The Kingdoms of Ulster - A LH SYOC story
by ZeroOneEl
Summary: The UK servers get the same treatment as everyone else, their active players find themselves sucked into the game and nobody knows how they got there, what will happen? Insanity and fun ensues, along the way our players, now 'Adventurers' will become something more.. Heroes. SYOC - UK Servers - OC galore - Possibly looking for beta/co-writer - Rating subject to change
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello! Yes ZeroOneEl here.. Aye, I'm still alive.. Aye, I know I've neglected my writers.. Aye, I'm very very sorry.. I've just found it a tinsy winsy bit difficult to focus lately.. I've moved, got a job.. Sorry, two jobs.. I'll have to update my profile at some point ._. Anyway, life is currently keeping me extremely busy..**

 **Now as soon as I've gotten my inspiration back, I'll return to my other stories.. I do want to finish the first book in my planned 'tales of origins' series as I've put so much into them.. I promise that you will see more of Y'Fran and Alstar.. They're not lost.. Just hiding..**

 **Anywoo~ I'm obviously here now.. And I've been watching Log Horizon for about two weeks now.. And well, it's amazing isn't it? Aye-aye, I had a feeling you'd agree with me.. I agree with you too..**

 **So I was looking for a SYOC Fic so I could just put forward some OC's and my LH hunger would have been sated.. However, I couldn't find one!..**

 **So.. I'm hoping this will help me slightly.. But with everything going on I doubt I'll be able to update this very often.. So? Shall we start?..**

No.. No no no no no.. This can't be happening.. I.. I'm just dreaming.. Yeah.. Yeah! I'm dreaming.. I'll wake up..Any minute now.. .. ..

"Hmm.. Well, this could be problematic.." A sudden fear dawns on me as I pinch my arm, the sharp painful feeling made me realise that what I hoped was a dream, could, possibly have become reality?

"Ha, listen to me.. O-Of course I'm not really here.. Maybe I passed out while playing.. Heh.. The number of times I've done that mid-dungeon.. But wait.. If it was in the middle of a d-.."

And as if answering my unasked question a foul roar echoed towards me. "Oh.. Shit.." Barrel rolling to my right, I barely avoid the giant as it comes hurtling past me.

"Well.. I guess if this is a dream.. I'm screwed.. Either my party will have kicked me, due to passing out.. Oh god, I hope I'm not snoring on voice chat or anything embarrassing.. Failing that I'm even more screwed.. Oh god.. What if I'm actually here and this isn't a dr-" My mumblings were cut short as I felt my body impact with something very hard.

I let out a cry of pain as I get sent flying through the air. It was a few moments before I stopped.. It was a rather abrupt, and painful stop, like when you emergency break and your seatbelt locks but your body keeps on moving.. Oh.. What's that?

I got my answer as the large club came into focus as it bounded towards me.

As the large.. Tree-looking, no seriously.. It looks like the big guy just uprooted a tree and thought he'd play tennis with my body.

Once more I was sent flying through the air, this time, however, I crashed through a few pillars.. Man that hurt..

"Freya! Look out!" Yells a familiar voice from an unknown direction. "Oi! Over here! C'mon you smell worse than a Dung Slime"

A dung slime is a low level monster that spawns in fields when they are fertilised too much. Okay, more pressing matters to take priority please.. Now if this is the game then..

Reaching my hand around to my back, my fingers grace the soft leather hilt of a weapon, a weapon that I was all too familiar with.

 _Dragnipur_.

The blade, that is currently, strapped to my back was and will likely forever be my most prized possession. It took me six raids, seventeen boss fights, four million gold and I had to find the broken blade of Dracanis before I could even start and that was just the materials for it. Then there was the forging, oh boy, didn't that take some serious time.

"FREYA!" Cried out that voice once more, breaking me free from my mind, even if for just a second.

Who the hell is Freya anyway?.. And why does the name ring some bel-.. … Oh..

Thinking on it my in-game-name was Freya.. Oh, how rude of me.. I haven't introduced myself.. Ahem.

My name is Francesca.. Yeah I know.. What a horrible name, right? I-I mean no offence if that's your name and you like but.. I hate my name.. Anyway, I'm seventeen, currently studying psychology, maths and business studies at a college.. What a bore.. As such I'm not really seen by anyone.. Both my parents travel with their work, and since I turned sixteen I've been pretty much living by myself.. I don't really mind, you see kids taking advantage of their parents all the time, but when they aren't around you can truly appreciate the time you get to spend with them. I love anything Japanese, their whole culture is so different.. I wish I lived there, maybe then I would have some real friends.. Instead of just some in-game friends.. But unfortunately I live in the UK.. And well.. Most people aren't open gamers in my college.. It's full of rich kids that get what they want.. There's a few I suspect that are what I call 'closet gamers'..

"For the sake of god! Freya! Wake up!" Shouts the voice again.

Doesn't that person know it's rude to interrupt someone when they are talking.. Well I guess I'm not really talking, but it is rude all the same!

Well as I'm sure you've gathered I'm what most people would call a veteran player of a game called _Elder Tale._ The game is extraordinary, the setting for the game was Earth, except it was half the size, thanks to the _Half-Gaia project_.. And the world had more of a post-apocalyptic feel to it with the remnants of the old world; buildings and the like, all being covered in lush green vegetation.

"Freya! Get your god-damned head outta your ass and help us!" Yells a new voice, this one, however, I recognised.

Slowly I picked myself up off the ground, everything feels so real, I begin before my lungs force me to breath. Half coughing and half chocking, I stumble towards the voices.

"Freya! For god's sa!.. Ah you decide t' join us a'last? C'mon, get some aggro on that fine ass o' yers!" Howls another voice.

I could feel a pressure build up in my head at the pervert's mention of my backside, instead of replying I simply turned to another person.

"Athelstan" I yell catching one man's attention, the guy in question turns to face me and smiled, it wasn't a happy smile on his behalf, more of an attempt at a reassuring smile.

"Sorry Freya, I've not got a clue right now.. Shall we deal with our current problem first?.. It would appear to be much harder to fight when we're not just watching from the other side of a computer screen" States Athelstan as he turns around opening his menu and selecting a spell.

The spell erupted from his staff and exploded on the ground splashing molten slag over everything.

"Watch where you're throwing them things man" Sighs the voice of another member as he pats out the flames on his armour before being smashed into the ground by a giant.

"Freya, you're up! Get in there and send out a holy rite!" Yells Calico as his eyes dart through the stats of his party.

"Aye!" I yell as I jump into the frey, Dragnipur already in my grasp. Hitting the ground and running towards the giants that were hammering down on one of our members.

As I get close I let out as roar that resounds throughout the great hall, attracting the attention of everything in the room. "What the hell.. I haven't used a skill yet?" I cry as I turn around and run the other way. "Crap crap crap crap!"

 **Hello again!.. So this is going to be a SYOC story and underneath is everything you'll need to know about everything (I think)**

 **SYOC form!**

 **I'll pop it on my profile so you can copy and paste it too ^-^**

Name: Insert your In-game/IRL name.

Gender: Insert your In-game/IRL gender.

Race: Pick your Race.

Age: Insert your age.

Level: (Max level 50 for OC's so they have a chance to develop)

Guild: Select a guild, fly solo or join one later.

Main Class: Select as main class (You cannot change this)

Sub-Class: Select Sub-Class (You can always change this later)

Secondary Sub-Class: [Locked]

Appearance: Choose your appearance

Personality: How do you act around others

Sexuality: Boys? Girls? Both? Relationships, Smaitionships!(Not open to relationships)

Equipment: [Main weapon, Secondary weapon, Head, Body, Hands/Arms, Belt, Legs, Feet, 3x Accessories (Wrists, Rings, necklaces)] (nothing game breaking please)

Attributes: You have 20 Attribute points to assign. Strength, Endurance, Defence, Agility, Perception, Intelligence, Mind, Piety, Charm, Luck. For explanations look below.

Play style:

Strengths: What do you excel in?

Weaknesses: What can't you do quite so well?

 **Here's an example for Freya.**

Name In-game/IRL: Freya/Francesca

Gender In-game/IRL: Female/Female

Race: Half-Alv

Age: 17

Level: 67

Guild: None

Main Class: Paladin

Sub-Class: Dancer

Secondary Sub-Class: Avenger

Appearance: Freya is nearly a like for like copy of Francesca, the only things that are different are her hair and eye colour. She is average height, with a petite frame. She has golden eyes in game (Blue IRL) and has long flowing blood-red hair that reaches down to her backside (Brown and shoulder length IRL). She has a pale and smooth complexion, she has two black sigil-tattoos on her hands.

Personality: Freya was a very bubbly girl always wanting to try new challenges with her 'friends', she was a morale booster to the team as she would always cheer everyone up. Although she is completely different IRL and is a loner who keeps to herself.

Sexuality: Freya has been caught RP'ing with other girls when ET was a game, but at the same time she's been seen RP'ing with guys too. As such Freya is just looking for the right person for her, she doesn't care if they are a boy or a girl.

Equipment: Freya has the legendary great-sword, Dragnipur. Which absorbs light which it then uses to power it's strikes with burning flames of light.

Freya's secondary weapon is a set of throwing axes that cause a two-second stun. Freya wears a warrior's tiara that gives a boost to any healing spell that is cast on her.

She has a full plate chest plate that gives a good bonus to Endurance and Defence.

She has arm guards that stop at her wrists to leave her sigils exposed, the arm guards have the same effect as the chest plate, but the sigils significantly increase her strength when she is wielding a 2handed weapon.

She has the belt of the titan that she gained from a raid, it boosts her damage output as she takes more damage, when she falls below 75%HP her attacks deal 1.25 Damage, at 50% it boosts to 1.5x, 25% 1.75x and at 5% HP her attacks deal 2x damage.

Covering her lower half, if you could say covering, is her Valkyrie Skirt, it is a very very short skirt, but the boosts it provides make the skimpiness of the attire worth it. The Valkyrie skirt is part of the Valkyrie set, and provides Holy Aura, which is a passive effect that multiplies her HP battle-regeneration by 2.5, and also damages any unholy/evil being within a 20m radius as well as emitting Holy Light which Dragnipur can absorb. The set has bonuses when worn together but she currently only has the skirt.

She wears the boots of the titan, that boost her damage output the same way her belt does.

She has two blood rings and a blood necklace that together increase her Endurance by 6, in turn increasing her HP.

Attributes: 8 STR, 7 END, 5 DEF

Play style: When it was a game Freya would rush into the battle, since it became reality.. Well she's not really changed much.

Strengths: High damage output, keeps aggro easily.

Weaknesses: Can accidentally pull too many mobs at times, which gives everyone a hard time.

 **Races**

1 Human

2 Elf

3 Half-Alv

4 Dwarf

5 Werecat

6 Wolfhair

7 Foxtail

 **Attributes**

 **Strength**

A measure of how physically strong a character is. Increases physical attack damage.

 **Endurance**

A measure of how sturdy a character is. Increases HP.

 **Defence**

A measure of how resilient a character is. Decreases damage taken.

 **Agility**

A measure of how agile a character is. Increases attack and movement speed, accuracy and evasion.

 **Perception**

A measure of how aware a character is. Increases chance to detect traps, hiding enemies and increases critical hit rates.

 **Intelligence**

A measure of a character's understanding of the arcane arts. Increases magic attack damage.

 **Mind**

A measure of a character's affinity to magic. Increases MP

 **Piety**

A measure of a character's healing capacity. Increases the effectiveness of healing spells.

 **Charm**

A measure of a character's social skills. Charm influences prices while trading with NPC's, makes you more approachable in the eyes of NPC's and increases the effectiveness of songs sung by bards.

 **Luck**

A measure of a character's luck. Luck increases drop rates for items, and critical hit rates, it also let's you occasionally find high quality items from NPC vendors.

 **Classes – Main Weapons – Recommended Attributes – Style**

 **Tank**

1 Guardian – Sword+Shield – Defence, Endurance – Damage Sponge

2 Paladin – 2Handed Sword – Strength, Defence – Aggressive Tank

3 Monk – Knuckles – Agility, Endurance – Dodging Tank

 **Healer**

4 Templar – Mace+Shield – Defence, Piety – Pure Healer

5 Druid – Staves – Piety, Mind – Heals over time

6 Exorcist – Tomes – Mind, Intelligence – Damage Interception, De-Buff remover

 **DPS**

7 Assassin – Twin Daggers – Agility, Perception – Pure DPS, DoT attacks.

8 Swashbuckler – Cutlass/Flintlock – Strength, Agility – AoE effects

9 Bard – Bows – Secondary has to be a Instrument (lute, harp, flute, etc.) – Charm, Luck – Support Buffs, Offensive De-buffs.

 **Magic**

10 Sorcerer – Staves – Intelligence, Mind – Pure Magic DPS - **I'm afraid that this class has reached max applicants,** **sorry!**

11 Summoner – Tomes or Staves – Mind – Summon pets to heal and deal damage - **I'm afraid that this class has reached max applicants,** **sorry!**

12 Enchanter – Staves – Intelligence, Mind – Buffs, De-buffs and Bindings

 **Sub-Classes** **(OC's can select one main sub-class and one secondary sub-class to learn when they reach a certain level)**

 **Production -** May create or craft items by combining materials and using tools, or utilize resource and equipment to enhance or repair items and equipment. There are many players who instead of fighting monsters and challenging dungeons, enjoy focusing their effort on crafting items and supporting their comrades using various resources through trading.

1 Artisan - Artisans are able to create intricate jewellery and other decorative items.

2Alchemist - Alchemists can create things such as battle potions and poisons, they can also transmute low quality materials into high quality ones.

3 Blacksmith - Blacksmiths can produce items out of metal including armour and weapons.

4 Brewer - Brewers are able to make alcoholic drinks and seasonings.

5 Counterfeiter - With the right material and a sample, counterfeiters can make fake versions of items.

6 Fuller - Cleans and strengthens materials, so they can be used to make high quality items.

7 Glassblower - This subclass involves the creation of glass items. They can craft anything out of glass ranging from tempered glass to glass blades.

8 Instrument Crafter - Instrument Crafters, as the name suggests, are able to create musical instruments usable by Bards, and are the only subclass that can repair such items.

9 Knife Grinder - Members of this subclass can restore the durability of single handed weapons like short swords and daggers, as well as being the only ones able to make shurikens and throwing knives.

10 Mason - Can create statues and monuments. With assistance from a woodcrafter, you can make bridges or other civil engineering projects out of stone.

11 Chef - The Chef subclass allows the player to create food that can help restore HP and MP over time, as well as offering other buffs, like Exp boosts and increased strength.

12 Mechanic - As its name suggests, this subclass deals with the construction and maintenance of machines.

13 Pharmacist - Pharmacists can mix or create potions from raw ingredients.

14 Potter - The potters main job involves creating ceramic vessels out of natural ingredients, like clay.

14 Scribe - It allows one to create or duplicate scrolls, maps, books, technical manuals, magical instruction manuals, and contracts using paper and ink.

15 Tailor - Tailors create items out of cloth and leather, they focus on lighter sets of armour and are favoured by magic users and damage dealers alike. They can also craft fine clothes and relax-ware.

16 Woodcrafter - This subclass enables players to create a variety of wood items from raw ingredients, joining forces with a Instrument crafter they can make high quality instruments.

 **Notes on production sub-classes.**

The **Alchemist** subclass has laws to which they must abide by, for example the law of Equivalent Exchange, meaning that an alchemist must lose or destroy something of equal value to that of which they are trying to create. So they would need a large amount of low quality materials to make a single high quality material, however, some materials can only be created through transmutation. Alchemists rely on Scribes to draw out their magic circles.

The **Blacksmith** subclass allows players to repair and reforge their items that are damaged or broken, however, this is a long process and can require a lot of materials. Blacksmiths are the only subclass that can reforge items.

The **Counterfeiter** subclass requires players to have a item that is at 100% durability before they can copy it. During the lower levels all items that are counterfeited will have 'Fake' in their name, at slightly higher levels this is hidden within the items flavour text, however once a counterfeiter reaches level 50 they can hide the 'Fake' note from the item entirely. But until they max out their level their counterfeited items can be appraised and found out for the fakes that they are. Counterfeiters also can't copy items that are higher than their level.

The **Chef** subclass allows the player to create food by picking and combining ingredients via the menu. After doing so, the food item will appear, looking identical to it's real-life counterpart, however, the food will have no taste whatsoever. To create food with actual taste, the player must prepare and cook the ingredients themselves without relying on the menu command system. However, players without the Chef subclass cannot handle ingredients, turning it into a strange purple or grey goo every time they try to cook it.

The **Mechanic** subclass was once limited to creating simple items like levers, pulleys, wheels and the such. However, now players can create complex machines and moving parts. Mechanics can create servitors that can help them during battle or increase their productivity.

The **Pharmacist** subclass mainly creates healing potions, but can also make resistance boosting potions. They are very sought after as there is always a very large need for high quantities of potions.

The **Potter** subclass was never looked at as a serious class, however, people never took into account that every time a Chef creates a dish, a plate of some descript is used. Since the demand for Chefs is likely to rise due to players wanting to eat good food, then the demand for higher quality plates will likewise increase.

The **Scribe** subclass has the ability to record information on paper in great detail, creating and copying items ranging from maps, documents, drawings, skill guides all the way up to magic tomes. Although cheap ingredients will suffice for creating normal items, high-quality magical tomes require ink with magical properties. To make such ink, a scribe needs to acquire ingredients such as dragon's blood or other rare minerals.

 **Role-Playing –** Sub-classes that focus more on playing a role rather than creating items, typically grant special bonuses or unique skills when playing the game.

1 Accountant - This subclass grants the player a bonus when conducting business transactions or negotiations with other players and NPCs in the game.

2 Animal Trainer - Animal Trainers can tame, domesticate, and take care of various monsters. However, unlike Summoners, the monsters they tame will die when they are killed, and are always by their owner's side. Starts with one tame slot but gains an extra one every tenth level.

3 Apprentice - Able to register another player to be his/her teacher. An Apprentice is able to copy the low- and mid-level skills of his/her teachers' subclass and receives experience bonuses making it easy to level. If an apprentice chooses to take their master's sub-class they get all the experience they earned.

4 Avenger - The abilities of this Slayer-like subclass are revealed after registering a person from your friends list as "the one you avenge". If that Player receives damage or is inflicted with an abnormal status, you have special skills that can help you take revenge on the one who did it.

5 Berserker - In combat, Berserker can attack enemies head-on in a nearly-uncontrollable battle rage, making this subclass good for a purely offensive strategy. Each physical attack restores health by 10% of the damage dealt. Ex. A hit of 1000 damage would heal 100 HP.

6 Border Patrol - Provides strong defence and offence in combat and can take heavy damage from foes, always holding ground as long as possible until victory or defeat.

7 Courier - As its name suggests, the role is that of messenger and deliveryman. He or she can be crucial for communication when telepathy is not possible.

8 Courtesan - Courtesans often act as escorts to nobles and are able to influence them politically or even economically with their silver tongues and charms.

9 Dancer – Dancers use their dances when fighting, fluidly dodging attacks while still attacking at high speeds. Dancers gain a boost to AGI as well as ATK SPD and movement SPD and whenever a bard plays a song they receive double buffs.

10 Farmer – Can grow crops in fields and personal gardens, ranging from veg to ingredients for potions.

11 Fisherman - As the title suggests, a Fisherman's main job is to catch fish for food.

12 Gladiator - As its name suggests, this subclass is designed for PvP combat, it boosts all stats slightly when the user is engaged in PvP battles.

13 Hitman - The hitman's job is to complete the task they were hired to. The employer could be anyone, as long they have the right amount to pay. If not given the money after the job has been completed, the hitman will receive something of equal value from the client. Hitmen get access to hidden quests that others can't accept.

14 Housekeeper - The Housekeeper subclass enables a player to clean a dwelling with relative ease, cleaning zones, arranging items, and managing consumable and storage items. As a result of their cleaning, the upkeep required to maintain a purchasable zone decreases.

15 Hunter - The Hunter's role is to hunt down and kill monsters for crafting materials.

16 Knight – This subclass gains an increase in defence as more player's rally around them.

17 Merchant - Merchants receive a price advantage during negotiations and bargaining.

18 Pathfinder - Pathfinder lets a character earn more loot when monsters are killed and the ability to detect nearby enemies.

19 Physician - Can tend to a person's wounds and ailments with his/her medical abilities and expertise.

20 Sigilmancer - Are capable of engraving special signs on targets. While they are incapable of creating items, they can engrave sigils on existing items to add additional effects. Sigils can be engraved on a person's flesh, the resulting tattoo will enhance and add special abilities to the recipient. However, to prevent the use of tattooed signs in conjunction with powerful equipment, if the area that is tattooed is hidden behind armour, the sigil will have no effect until the armour is removed again.

21 Swordsmith - A variant of the Blacksmith, Swordsmiths specialize in creating bladed weapons. The player restricts him/herself to only creating weapons, making the class harder to level. High-level Swordsmiths are rare, but in great demand due to the amount of sword-using players.

22 Tracker - As the name implies, the Tracker subclass gives players additional skills that allows them to track other players or foes, disappear and move silently.

23 Undead Hunter - The Undead Hunter's role is to hunt down and annihilate the Undead with his/her holy weapons. They gain attack bonuses when fighting undead.

24 Vampire - Vampires are weakened in daylight but are given various buffs during night time. Although they can still travel in daylight, they tend to avoid it. Healing spells do not work on Vampires, and instead inflict damage on them.

25 War Priest - A player with the War Priest subclass can replace some Healing-class skills with Warrior-class skills.

 **Rare Title Examples (There are more) (OC's are not allowed to select a Title as they will be earned during the story) Sacrifice secondary sub-class when gaining a title. **

Sword Saint – Received after defeating the illusive Black Knight in a special once a year raid. Gains a huge attack and defence bonus when using swords.

Dragon Slayer – Received after defeating the Dragon King in a special once a year raid. Gains the permanent effect, Dragon Scale Armour, which doubles the character's base defence.

Demon Slayer – Received after defeating the Light-bringer in the raid 'Michael's decent'. Gains the permanent effect, Eternal Damnation, which doubles the character's base attack.

Royal Raider – Received after completing a set number of raids. While performing raids the character is constantly regaining HP, MP and their gear doesn't become damaged.

Forge Master – Received after crafting a set number (?) of high quality weapons and armour. Both have separate counters which makes this one of the hardest titles to obtain and there is currently only two known players with this title across the whole game. Forge Masters can create master crafted items that are worth hundreds of millions each.

 **Guilds (OC's can either join one of the following, create their own guilds or be part of each others)**

East Indian Trade Co. – A trading guild that is well establish in the UK severs, leading the markets in sales and profits. The guild is run by one man known as John but has a massive playerbase, with 40% of all merchants on the UK server being members or associated to them. EITCo have a large mixture of classes and subclasses, they have a select group within their guild that are designated to protecting caravans and warehouses.

Freemasons – A combat guild that has been around since Elder Tale's beta. The guild is structured like the knights of the templar once were. Although they are one of the most powerful combat guilds on the UK server, they are also one of the smallest, with only thirty-two members. Most members are the Templar class with the War Priest sub-class, the rest are Paladins with the Border Patrol sub-class, both share the Royal Raider title. Their Grand Master, Michael, is a Paladin with the Knight sub-class, and the Demon Slayer title.

The Damned Legion – One of the largest PK guilds on the UK server, they were once a small group of players that stood atop the rankings in the arenas, but after a group used a glitch to beat them they went mad. Very, very sore losers. Instead of taking back their title they turned to PvP battles in the wilds, swapping their fame for infamy. Nothing is known about the leader of the guild.

Moonlight Loners – A guild of solo players that only join forces for raids, other than that they make use of the guild's storage and rooms. Their leader is know as the Silent Swordswoman.

Furry Fury – A guild that consists of only Werecats, Wolfhairs and Foxtails. The guild is very RP orientated.

Part-Time Paragons – The UK server's equivalent to Japan's Debauchery Tea Party. They aren't the strongest or the largest, but their raid history has not a single loss. They were always organised thanks to their Strategists and how well the whole party worked together. Time will tell if they get together and create a guild. Known members; Freya, Athelstan, Magnus, Calico, Fang, Lulu, Titus, Refia, Faris and a few others.. There is limited space for OC's at the moment, as they aren't in a guild so I'll need to work with you to fine tweak your characters so they fit in with everyone else. This group will be the hardest one to get, as it's a lot of work, but we'll see.

Region corresponding to United Kingdom in the real world, **The Kingdoms of Ulster**.

 **Cities and Towns**

Kingdom of Alba (Scotland)

Eidyn – Capitol

Fortru – Major City (North)

Carventia – Major City (West)

Novant – City (South)

Caledone – Large Town (East)

Selgrove – Town (South)

Kingdom of Britannia (England)

Londenium – Capitol

Dumnonia – Major City (North)

Carvetia – Major City (West)

Epidia – Major City (South)

Brigantia – City (West)

Isailia – City (East)

Coritania – City (East)

Kingdom of Walhs (Wales)

Silures – Capitol

Deceangil – Major City (West)

Ordovice – City (North)

Demetae – Large Town (East)


	2. Chapter 2

**Oh.. Um.. Wow.. I wasn't expecting to get such a fast response..**

 **Well, I'd like to thank, ahem.**

 **Phantomtwriter, Hell Devil, ShadeZyro, Rundl322, Tumpelo, Sapptor and lVergill for all your OC's!**

 **Yup, you're all in! Yay! We'll, hopefully, see them all in the coming chapters!**

 **Just to clear things up; I do not own LH.. Like I do not own any of the original works that I base my Fic's on.. I'm not saying I wouldn't mind owning them.. I mean if you're reading this and want to give me ownership of your glorious work.. Well if you twist my arm! Okay..**

 **So, shall we continue?**

"Where the hell am I?" Grumbles a rough voice, next to me. Of all the people.. Why am I stuck with the pervert.

"We, are.."

"I'll tell ya' where we are! We're inside the freakin' game!" Yells the man as he turns to look at me.

"What?.. D-Don't look at me like that.. Pervert"

"Freya?" Begins the pervert as he raises his hand past my face. "What the hell is that!?"

My head snaps in the direction of his hand.. Nothing.. Wait! What the hell is that feeling? It feels like someone squ-

Turning to face my _companion_ I found the man's hands on my chest, a sparkle in his eyes, like a child who'd just been given candy.. More pressing matters!

I let out a scream as my fist finds the pervert's perverted face, sending him flying into a nearby sand dune. All I could hear him mumbling was something along the lines of 'feel.. so.. real'.

With my arms firmly wrapped around my chest I take a second to look around. I.. We, were currently in a massive open space, that looked more like a beach than anything.. Oh.. Why is the Earth..

"By the look on your face, I'm guessing you've figured it out eh?" Questions another voice.

Turning to see Athelstan and Calico, a small smile pulls at my lips. "Figured out that this is the moon? Yeah.. But what are we doing here?" I question dumbfounded.

"Well I guess we all died.. I'm just glad this hasn't turned out like an anime I watched a while ago" Grumbles Calico as he rubs the back of his neck, noticing both me and Athelstan staring at him.

"You watch anime?.. I always thought you were like a dad or something" States Athelstan as he speaks for both of us.

"Huh?.. Oh gee, thanks guys.. I'll have you know I've just finished uni" Answers a slightly offended looking Calico.

"Where are the others?" I question as I hear the pervert making his way back to us.

"Maybe they haven't died yet?" Answers Calico as he looks towards the planet in the sky.

"More importantly, is that _home_ or is that _Elder Tale_?" Inquires Athelstan, as he pushes up his glasses.

"Aye, either way.. We need to get back, I mean when we died in-game we resurrected at our last city's cathedral.. There was always that long loading screen which only happened when you died" I state feeling smart that I had remembered all that.

"Very true squishy ti-" Begins the pervert before he receives another one of my fists in his face.

"Do you think Faris will ever learn?" Whispers Athelstan to Calico, both of them suppressing their laughter.

"I doubt it" Replies Calico in a hushed voice, before turning to me again. "Which city were you last in?"

"Novant, I was just finishing off a chain quest there" I reply with a sigh, remembering how much time it took me to finally get to the end of it. "Where's everyone else?"

"I think most of us were last in Lodenium" Replies Calico as he runs his hand through his long blonde hair. "I think there were a few stragglers here and there but it looks like it's just us onli-" Calico's voice suddenly began to vanish.

I had the strange feeling of falling and quickly closed my eyes.

The moment I reopened them I found myself in a church-looking building. Ahh, the cathedral.. So everything really does work the same way as the game.. Now what do I do?

"Um, miss" Whispers a tiny voice. Turning to the source of the noise, I find myself looking at a small girl.

"Yes?"

"Could you help me?" Asks the girl as she clasps her hands together, falling to her knees. "Please miss, I beg you"

"Uh.. I.." I begin to reply as someone comes bursting through the cathedral doors. The girl runs behind me, feeling her take hold of me I take a defensive stance.

"You girl! Get here, you're mine!" Screams the new-comer as he walks through the open doors.

"H-He killed my father" Whispers the girl into my back.

The first thing that came to my mind was that this girl had been playing with her father and this man coming towards me had killed him. However, I failed to notice the girls status of 'person of the land'.

"Hey! Get out of my way woman!" Yells the man as he draws his blade, a shield beginning to materialise on his other arm.

Hmm, where are the law-keepers, I wonder before reaching behind my back, my blade materialising from my inventory at the motion. Grasping the hilt I draw my trusted great-sword, the sigils on my hands begin warming up and start glowing a light blue.

"I said.. Move!" Shouts the man as he charges at me.

"Look out!" Cries the girl.

The man's blade stopped as it clashed with my own, and we both quickly began to push our strength into the blades. Slowly the man's blade faltered and sparks flashed as my great-sword pushed his one handed blade to the side. I twisted the blade and placed it under the man's throat in a threatening manner. He took the point and dropped his blade, as two giant knights came walking in, both clad in the impenetrable black armour of the law-keepers.

Seeing the aggression halted the two black knights stopped their advance. Now they looked like nothing more than imposing statues.

"Why did you kill this girl's father?" I question as I swing my blade in a circular motion before returning it into the sheath on my back, my sigils slowly loosing their glow.

"Tsk, they're nothing more than NPCs! What do we 'players' care for them!" Retorts the man as he turns to leave, uprooting a set of wooden pews and sending them smashing into a nearby pillar.

"Th-Thank you" Whispers the girl as she cries into her hands.

Turning to face the child I finally take into account the status window, a small pop-up that gives basic info on someone near to you as long as you are focused on them.

"I.. I don't have anything to give you to thank you for protecting me.." Starts the girl as she wipes her eyes.

"Ah, don't worry about it" I reply as I wave the silly suggestion off.

"But miss, it's only fair that I give you something in return for saving me.. I.. I'll become your servant until the time comes when I have repaid my debt" States the girl, more assertive than anything.

"Hey, hold on there.. I don-"

"Please mistress, allow me to serve you!" Exclaims the girl as she bows her head.

"I.. Ugh, fine"

"Oh thank you mistress!" Shouts the girl, seeming to have forgotten about the loss of her parent.

Well I can't stay in the cathedral all day, I guess I should head to the transportation gate and get back to Londenium.

Closing my eyes I take in a deep breath, this is crazy.. How am I even here.. I mean everyone dreams of being inside the games they play for all sorts of reasons.. I admit it's the only thing I ever dream of.. But this? How? I've got so many questions.. But I guess right now they can wait, first thing is to meet up with everyone and sort out what we are going to do.

Just as I was heading through the doors of the cathedral a ringing sound filled my head, nearly scaring me half to death.

A moment after the sound began a pop-up opened stating that is was a call from Calico, with two options, one to accept and one to decline.

After hitting accept the familiar voice of my friend filled my ears. "Freya, the transportation gates are offline, you're going to have to travel here on foot"

"What!? Seriously.. But that's like a four day journey!" I complain as my feet suddenly feel like they want to drop off.

"Yeah if you were walking, just use your mount you idiot" Replies the Eleven bard with a small laugh.

"Hey! Don't laugh at my suffering!" I shout as I hang up the call with a huff.

"Where are we going mistress?" Questions the girl as I turn to face her.

"We're going to Londenium but wh-"

"Londenium!" Exclaims the girl as she jumps up and down. "I've always wanted to go!"

"Right well it's going to be a long trip, so maybe you should go get some stuff from you home" I state as I walk out into the streets of Novant.

"Of course mistress, I'll be at the gates in a little while, please don't leave without me" Pleads the girl with a bow before running off into the crowd, I'd lost sight of her within a few seconds.

I sigh as I take a step forward, and the first thing I go and do?.. Crash right into another person.

With a horrible pain in my backside, thanks to my ass breaking my fall, I let out a groan before noticing a hand in my face.

"I.. Um.. Sorry I seem to have made you flash those men.." Stammers the owner of the outstretched appendage.

Realising that my private areas were currently on public show I quickly accepted the man's offer and pulled myself up. I could feel my face burning with embarrassment, as I turned my glare to the men stood nearby, all of which had bleeding noses, they turned a scampered off.

"Sorry a-about that" Repeats the man, still holding my hand, realisation must have dawned on him as he quickly pulled it back, it was a shame really.. His hand felt so warm and soft, yet his skin was pale and cold.. Much like my own.. Oooo~ we could be twins.. Hmm, maybe not he seems alittle to timid to be my twin.

Looking up at the man I noticed his messy white hair and dark blue eyes, as well as his sigil just being visible behind a few bangs on his hair that fell by his eyes. All in all he was a kinda cute looking guy, judging from his gear he was no higher than level 35, his tome strapped to his hip gave away that he was either an Exorcist or a Summoner and that he'd had experience with the low-level dungeons. As both his tome and his robe were both loot acquired from level 30+ dungeons.

I brush off my skirt before speaking. "It's okay, I wasn't watching where I was going, but if you really felt bad you could give me all your gold" I smirk as the man's face falls, before waving my hands in front of myself as he opens his inventory. "Woah woah I was only joking!" I protest.

With a sigh I look at the guy, feeling sorry for him I walk past him, pulling his arm so he follows. "Come on.. I'll buy you a drink" Not that the guy had a choice with my high strength stat he wasn't going anywhere.

It only took a few minutes before we reached one of Novant's many alehouses, walking in I found the place deserted, well I guess having a drink is the last thing on peoples minds right now.. I bet most people are crying about being stuck here.. As for me.. Nah.. I still haven't gotten my head around the whole idea of being here but hell, I might as well enjoy it while I can.

Walking to the bar the NPC greeted me with a smile as he waked over. "What ca'nee get for yee?"

"I'll take an orange juice, and anything he wants" I state pointing to the mage next to me.

"Aye.. Well what'yee afta?" Asks the man impatiently.

"I.. Um.. I'll just have water please" Stammers the man in a quiet voice.

"Aye one orange juice and one water.. That'll be two gold" States the man as he places the drinks on the bar top.

I hand the man two coins before walking over to a table in the corner, my companion following close behind. The two of us took our seats at either end of the table and the man sipped his glass of water.

"So Vaan's your name?" I question before taking a gulp of my juice.

"H-How did you know that?" Mumbles the man.

"Okay.. Look at me.. No, really look at me, okay. Now, focus on me, forget everything else, just pretend that I'm the only thing here.." The man does as I say, and at some point his thumb found it's way to his mouth, as he focused on me he bit it. Okay, even I have to admit, that is cute.. Before I could admire Vaan any more he jumped back. The pop-up must've scared him.

"Okay that pop-up will tell you most of the basic info about me, name, level, race, class, HP, MP.. Just the usual stuff, unless I don't want you to see it.

"I see" Mumbles the man as he focuses on me again. By the look in his eyes I could guess that he was reading my.. Yep, there it is, he got to my level.. Poor guy..

"Y-Your level 67?" Questions Vaan with a look of disbelief.

"Yup" I reply with a smirk as I finish off my juice. "Well I hope this makes up for me bumping into you, here" I fumble around my inventory before pulling out a pair of gloves and throwing them at him. "They're magic gloves, they'll give you a boost in MP and MP regeneration"

"Th-Thank you Freeah" Stutters the man as he checks over the gloves.

"It's Freya, if you need something give me a shout" I state as I send him a friend request. It's odd that I feel so at ease around a complete stranger.. But heck it's not like he can cause me any trouble.. A small smile pulls at my lips as I read the pop-up. 'Vaan has accepted your request'. "Work hard and achieve your dreams" I let slip my groups slogan and I see Vaan recognised the words.

"The Part-Time-Paragons used to say that" States Vaan mater of factly.

"Indeed we did, and we still do" I smirk as I slip out the door, leaving the man to think over what I just said.

With a small skip in my step I made my way to the city's gates. "See you around Vaan" I mumble as I fade into the crowd.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello, now don't go thinking that this whole update thing is going to always happen so quickly, it's just right now I've got so much momentum, thanks to everyone posting OC's and reviewing.**

 **But I'm sure that life will throw another 70-odd hour weekend at me again sooner or later.. Yeah working at a bar and a nightclub can really be a pain in the ass.. Oh well, got to pay the bills somehow and I'd rather not sell my body (parts or otherwise).**

 **Just want to say thank you to y'all that have submitted an OC and/or a comment.. They really help keep me writing!**

 **Well let's hop back to it, eh?**

The city gates came into view as I rounded a corner, now wearing my combat gear, in case we run into any trouble out in the wilds. My outrageously long red hair was now tied up into a single, long and free flowing ponytail. My clothes now swapped for armour, a metal chest plate with arm guards reaching down to my wrists, replaced my blue long sleeved top. My Valkyrie Skirt replacing my previous black one, and my shoes and thigh high socks now replaced by my Boots of Titan, that reached up past my knees. Dragnipur rested on my back and about twelve throwing axes found hiding places on me.

"Mistress? Is that you?" Asks my _servant_ , her attire now matched that of an adventurer and she had a small doming hammer attached to her hip. _._

"Aye" I reply with a smile.

"Oh mistress I was worried you had left without me!" Exclaims the girl.

"You're a blacksmith?" I ask.

"No mistress, I'm a Knife Grinder" Replies the girl.

"I didn't get your name?"

"Maria. Mistress" Answers the girl.

"Freya" I reply hoping that the girl might call me by my name instead.

"It is an honour to know my mistress's name" I guess not.

"Are you sure you want to leave?" I ask as I pat her head.

"O-Of.. Of course mistress. I am your loyal servant and I will remain by your side until my debt has been paid" Guess that means I'm stuck with her, at least she can craft me some throwing weapons.

"Might I ask where you are going?" Asks a voice from behind us. I turn to find a group of people stood in a semi-circle blocking us off. Focusing on them I find that they average at level 30 with their strongest player at level 37 and their weakest player at 21.

"What business is it of yours?" I ask in a harsh tone as some of the group move closer.

"Well you see, I want to know what happens when I kill someone, now that this isn't a game and all, do I get to keep your corpse? Ooo, I have so many experiments" Answers the leader as he doubles over with some seriously creepy laughter.

"I see you haven't taken into account my level" I state with a sigh, killing low level players like these is just going to be an annoyance more than anything.

"Tsk, judging from your mismatched gear I'm guessing you're a rookie" Replies a man stood next to the leader.

Ooo~ I didn't see him.. Interesting.. What's a level 55 doing hanging around with these lowlifes?

"M-Mistress.. What should we do?" Asks Maria as she shuffles behind me.

"I'll give them what they want" I smirk as I whisper my reply while drawing my great-sword. With a level 55 Enchanter this could be fun.

"So you want to die?" Snaps the leader as his group all move closer to me.

"Maria, I want you to stay about twenty-five paces behind me" I order as I slowly walk backwards, swinging Dragnipur in a circular motion, feeling my sigils awaken a devilish grin flashes over my lips.

"Understood mistress" Replies Maria as she moves out of range of the small AoE my attacks have.

As soon as I exit the safe zone boundary I know they're going to swarm me, which is going to work in my favour. I take one more step back and feel my limiters break, allowing me to use my full power. As well as cities and towns being safe zones they also limit your abilities, with the limit effect, also know as limiters. They were put in place after a player obliterated a town in version.3, and they make sure you can't cause any serious damage to the town, it also makes the black knights always seem even more invincible.

"Woah boss, what the hells going on?" Asks one of the lackeys as they witness the light of the world being drained into my blade.

"Make the world as black as midnight! Rip the light of day asunder! Make only the worthy see the light!" I yell as I send my blade hurtling into the ground, Dragnipur had no issues with boring into the stone path and send out a tremor that knocked most of the men off balance.

"Interesting" Mumbles the Enchanter as he casts a buff over his band of miscreants.

The group let out roars as they charge at me. Closer. Closer. Closer.. Now! Twisting my body around my blade I pull it free and in one fluid motion began my blade-dance, you see as well as being a Paladin, I'm also a Dancer. With the Dancer sub-class you can fluently chain attacks together and save them as dances, more specifically for me 'Blade-dances'.

The others were right when they said fighting in your body much harder than it was when controlling characters through the screen, but it did mean that you could control everything, every twist, every turn, it's exhilarating! The feeling of holding onto such a powerful weapon, the shock going through my arms as my blade strikes another, how my movements were enhanced by the system thanks to my stats.. Oh I could get used to this, I really could.

My blade clashed against another and quickly overpowered it sending the wielder as well as the weapon flying backwards. Even as I knocked back each of them they continued to attack, this was going to get tedious very quickly.

"This is boring!" Booms the boss as he rolls his head around on his shoulders while cracking his knuckles. Oh great.. A Monk.. I let out a sigh as I twist my foot, ready to launch a sonic slash.

"She's prepared for a frontal attack, I'll bind and you flank her side" Whispers the Enchanter.

"Now now guys, don't you think it's a little disgusting to attack two lovely ladies in such a barbaric manor?" Questions a new voice, belonging to an interesting looking man. A suit of silvery armour covered most of his upper body, and his lower half was covered by his long blue surcoat-like shirt. He wore his armour funny, half of it was over his long shirt and the rest was underneath it, as far as having one gauntlet on show and the other hidden under a long sleeve. I couldn't help but giggle at his chosen hairstyle, he looked like a blonde Elvis, with red eyes.

"Who the hell are you?!" Demands the leader as he turns to face the man.

"My name is Alkaline, but you can call me ass-kicker" Smirks the man as he draws his two-handed sword. "Well are you too chicken to face a real man? Want to go cry to your mama? Oh have I hurt babies feelings?" Taunts Alkaline, his words gained the desired effect as the leader charged at him. "Oh come now, you can't hit a level 49 with sissy punches like those" Laughs Alkaline as he blocks each attack with the flat of his blade.

The man obviously failed to notice the Enchanter starting up a high-level binding spell. Easy fix. I move my hand from my sword and pull out a throwing axe, flipping it around into a better position I launch the axe at the Enchanter, it wouldn't kill him but my axe would stun him for two seconds, which would be enough to cancel his spell. The axe found home and hit him in the arm, I didn't have a chance to see if he started to cast again as four lackeys all charged at me. With a spin of my sword they were all sent flying in different directions.

I was just in time to see Alkaline get sent flying into the air from an upward punch, the leader then disappeared in a burst of speed, with a flicker he was above Alkaline and kicked him back down towards the ground.

Alkaline hit the floor so hard he coughed up a splatter of blood, before the leader reappeared on top of him with all the force of his fall.

One final swing of my blade and the remaining lackeys were KO'd, the KO status is applied when you take too much damage in a set amount time, if you've been KO'd you can't really do anything, but at least you're not dead.

My HP hardly even had a scratch on it, and my battle-regeneration would put me back to 100% in.. Well, now.

"Hey guys!.. I'm finished with the small fry!" I shout as I unleash Dragnipur's fury, basking the blade in a searing light.

"Good I just hope you're more of a challenge than him" States the level 37 Monk as he points behind himself to the level 49 in the crater.

"Oh don't worry if you wanted a real fight, you should have stayed focused on me" I reply with a smirk as the leader disappears in a burst of speed, reappearing in front of me.

"Oh hello" I chime as I feel the additional weight on my blade. "You might feel a massive prick going through your abdomen.. Right.. About.. Now" I mock as the man lets out a scream of pain. Talk about an idiot, who does the same trick twice, he must have known that I was watching him fight Alkaline. Did he just underestimate me?

As the leader takes a few steps back he dislodges himself from my sword, his HP was dropping quickly. "So did you get your answer?.." I ask politely.

"Tsk, aye.. Me and my boys won't mess with you again" Answers the leader with a underline tone of respect.

After spinning my blade and sheathing it I move to take a look at Alkaline. "For someone who can talk the talk, you just got your smart arse handed to you" I chuckle.

"Anything for a damsel in distress my dear" Replies the man as he pulls himself up.

"I don't recall being in distress.. And I'm sure as hell that I'm no damsel" I state as I turn and make my way back to Maria.

"Don't I get the name of such an angel?"

At the compliment I feel my cheeks blush slightly. "Freya"

"Ah, a beautiful name for an equally beautiful woman.. Until we meet again Freya the angel"

"Mistress.. You're so powerful.. I was sure that they would have succeeded in defeating you with their numbers, but then you defeated them all!" Exclaims the small girl.

"Let's go before we end up suffering another distraction" I sigh as we start our long journey to Londenium.

I waited until I was out of view of Novant before I whistled for my Frost Wolf. The beast came charging through the woods, it's silvery fur darting between trees as it came to my call.

"Mistress!" Cries Maria as my mount gets closer.

"Don't worry, Snow's going to make our trip a lot shorter" I reply to the girl as I place a hand on her shoulder.

Snow, the name I gave my mount a long long time ago after finding him lost in the frozen dungeon at the very top of Ulster, where the sea meets the frozen mountains.

As Snow came to a stop in front of me I place a hand behind his ear and gave him a scratch. The giant wolf's tail began wagging in a show of happiness.

"M-Mistress.. Can I stroke h-him?" Asks Maria in a small voice.

"Of course, his furs nice and soft, so I'd say he's recently been in one of the sacred pools.. He's a good boy but if he sees one of the damned pools he'll go right for it" I groan at the memory of Snow charging into a giant, which I had to hop off and deal with, back when this was just a game. I hope he obeys me better now than he did when I used to command him with the mouse.

"Mistress! He's so warm and fluffy" Exclaims the girl as she hugs Snow, who turns to nuzzle the small girl.

"Aye, just remember to hold on tight, we've got five hours before I have to let him go back into the wild" I state as I hop onto the saddle and offer my hand towards the girl.

"Thank you mistress" Mumbles the girl as she holds onto me.

"Let's go Snow" I command, and he obeys.

I imagine this is what it was like to ride a horse in the real world.. Well maybe not, but Snow sure as hell knew his way through the forest, it was like he knew where I wanted to go without me having to even tell him.

A couple of hours into the ride I slowed Snow's pace as Maria had fallen asleep, her arms still wrapped around me. For an NPC she felt so warm, it was like she was a real child, putting all her trust into me. The idea of this girl seeing me as a mother figure warmed my heart slightly, and a genuine smile fell upon me.

We'd travelled about 10% of the way, going mostly through the forest paths and old trade routes to keep out of sight. However, I knew there was someone following us, they were just watching.. For now. The obviously weren't an assassin, and if they were they obviously sucked at being stealthy..

The next few hours were uneventful, but I knew that Snow would soon become restless and I'd have to send him off, but first I wanted to reach the town of Selgrove that lies on the border between Alba and Britannia, although small the town has so petty good inns and other shops. I always liked to sell my stuff at Selgrove in hopes that one day it would become a city of it's own.

We were still being followed but my guess was that they were just a travel partner, you'd get them all the time in the game. Players that are low level would follow high-level players at a safe distance until they got close to their destination, it was a common thing, but most of the time they at least introduced themselves. Oh well, Selgrove just came into view.

"Maria, wakey wakey" I cooed to my companion as we approached the town walls. The girl stirred and sleepily pushed her hand into my face. "Mama, I wanna lie in tooday" Mumbles the girl groggily.

I don't know if it was how cute she looked, or if it was the fact that she, a program, had called me 'mama', but either way I blushed slightly as I lifted the girl's petite frame into my arms. "Go on Snow, go get something nice to eat" I whisper to my mount as he runs off.

Turning back towards the town's wooden gates I knock.

"Aye, the gate be closed.. What do yee wan-" Starts a voice as a small latch opens and the persons eye's go wide. "Miss Freya.. My apologies, come right in"

Hmm? They know my name?.. I walk through the now open gate as the guard closes it behind me. "Miss Freya, it's an honour to see you again, it's been a few months since your last visit. We were getting worried" States the guard as he closes the gate.

"A few months?.." But I was here a few days ago when I passed through to get to Novant for my quest. "Are you sure?" I ask politely.

"Aye" Replies the guard as he smiles. "But it's good to see that you are well" He adds before walking into his guard hut.

A few months?.. Wait.. If I remember, there was a discussion on the forums before the patch was done, everyone was working out the time difference in the game.. They got to it being around 10 to 14 hours in-game took only a single hour of playtime.. So I guess that makes sense, let's say it's been five days since I was last logged on, which is when I'd have passed through.. ..

"I wonder if that means only a few hours have passed in the real world?" I question to myself absent-mindedly as I head towards the Twin Rose Inn. All that matters right now though.. Is a hot bath, another glass of water-tasting-orange juice, and then a comfy bed to catch some Z's.


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, wanna know a secret?**

 **I'm really enjoying writing this.. I don't know if it's you lovely people reviewing and sending me messages, but heck this is the most time I've spent writing in a loooo~ng while.**

 **So.. Thank you all! You've rekindled my love of writing!**

 **It's only because of you that I'm able to stay focused and keep up pace..**

 **However, I have work from 12(noon) until 5-6am-ish tomorrow then 10am till 5-6am again, and then I'll be able to sleep until 3pm before I have to go to work at 4 until about midnight. So yeah, if you're reading this and it's like Monday or Tuesday, then I apologise that I didn't manage to get it published in time.. I tried my hardest!**

 **So I just wanted to make a few mentions;**

 **ShadeZyro, I'm glad you enjoyed the chapters and I'm over the moon that you thought I did well at portraying Vaan. As for Freya's fight, she had a few advantages; She's got superior stats and gear, her battle-regeneration is quite high due to her level so as she gets damaged most of it is healed pretty quickly. Although she won't admit it she was also protecting Maria. I hope to hear from you again soon :3.**

 **Phantomtwriter, I'm pleased that you liked the chapters, aye I'm updating so quickly because the story seems to write itself, and in part it's thanks to you and the others ^-^.**

 **Hell Devil 13, phew, I wasn't sure if I got Alkaline right, but he seemed to just jump in, I was planning on having him on the trail and Freya kicking ass on her own. However Alkaline had his own thoughts on the matter and was unable to keep himself from 'rescuing' an angel. I thought that seeing as he gets distracted easily, the Monk wouldn't have any trouble catching him off guard. He seemed to recover quickly enough and as soon as he was up he tried smooth talking our current main character, hell, he even got a blush.**

 **Rundl322, I'll try to bring some more in over the next few chapters, I was thinking about bringing in one and maybe foreshadowing a second with each chapter :D.**

 **Okay, enough of my ramblings, I'm sure you're all here for the story?**

That bath was.. Aa~mazing.. I can't believe the innkeeper gave me two rooms for free.. He said something about the town's heroine not having to pay for such things, as it would be an honour to accommodate for someone such as myself. He also let slip that once people heard I'd stayed in one of his rooms, that the whole town would want to rent the room out.

But yes, the bath.. Oh wow.. I didn't think that I'd feel this great after an hours soak.. But, oh boy.. The way the water warmed my body.. Soothing all my muscles.. Oh it was just perfect.. The more I think about it though.. The more and more this world feels real.. The people all know me, respect me even.. Here, in this world, I'm not just another face in the crowd.. In this world I actually feel alive.

Jumping onto my bed for the night I let out a sigh, the bed was overly large and had way too many pillows for my liking. Most of them ended up on the floor as I tried to get comfortable, as much as the towel wrapped tightly around my body was warm and cosy, it was also getting in the way. Removing the offending item I lay on the bed with nothing but my long blood red hair draping over my private areas, and most of the bed for that matter.

Ever since I was young I always wanted really really long hair, but mother never agreed, _It's very unladylike to have ones hair too long, it looks better this way Francesca._ Well mother, I have to disagree, I do much rather prefer my hair this way..

I muse over the thoughts of my _old_ world; college, food that tasted like food, drinks that didn't taste like water.. And then my mind moved onto more darker thoughts.. The reasons why I used gaming as a release, the reasons why I was starting to accept this new world as my own.. The bullies, the lack of friends, having no one to turn to.. The more I thought about it the more I wanted, no, the more I needed this to be real..

Here in this world.. I wasn't the girl hiding in the corner of class, or the girl who had fun made of her because of her parents never being around, the girl who went home and wasted her time playing games..

No.

Here, I'm Freya..

I am Freya..

And this is my world..

I let out a small sigh as I pull the soft covers over my naked body and slowly start to doze off.

 _Daybreak_

I slowly stir in my sleep as the windows let in the morning light. Opening my eyes slowly I find the face of Maria staring at me in awe.. At some point during the night I'd discarded my covers, after getting too hot.. Which left me.. Completely exposed!..

I let out a small sound as I reach for the covers, falling off the bed in the process.

"Mistress, are you okay?" Asks Maria as she places a platter down on the bed-side table. "I've brought your breakfast, the innkeeper said he insisted on nothing but the best for you" States the girl as she bows and leaves.

"Thank you!" I shout as I pop my head up to make sure she left, before jumping on the bed and heading towards the platter. Pulling the top off I marvel at the presentation of the food, it looked amazing, however, I knew it was only going to taste like a dried cracker.. Just like everything else that is consumable. It was a shame that something that looked so good tasted so bland, but hell I've eaten worse.

After finishing my breakfast and getting dressed I opened the door of my room and made my way downstairs.

As I walk into the tavern I'm greeted with raised voices.

"What the hell was that for?!" Yells a tall looking woman as she gets up from her seat, flames encircling her balled fists.

"Woah there! I was just bored is all.. Jeez, it was just a joke!" Retorts a red haired man as he back-flips over a nearby table, putting some distance between himself and the woman.

"Take your practical jokes somewhere else, before I set you on fire so you match your hair" Barks the woman as she sits back down.

"Reno! For the sake of my inn.. Please take your pranks outside" Orders the innkeeper as points to the door.

"Yeah yeah, I'm going.. I was starting to fall asleep anyway" Replies the red-head with a yawn and a half-arsed attempt at a wave.

"That man can never keep himself out of trouble" Grumbles the innkeeper as he turns and notices me. "Ah Freya, take no mind of that.. It was just an adventurer, unhappy with the prank she received from Reno.." Assures the man behind the bar as he cleans a glass. "Is there anything you were after?"

"Oh.. No, no I'm fine thanks.. But here" I reply as I pull out a small coin purse and place it on the bar top. "And I'm not going to take 'no' for a answer" I add sternly.

"Freya, after everything you have done for our town, giving you somewhere to rest your wry feet is the least we can do" Counters the man as he pushes the purse back to me.

"Fine, that was the easy way.. Everyone.. Drinks on me!" I yell as everyone shouts their orders, I push the coins back to the man with a victorious grin. "This way we both win" I add as I turn around to find Maria.

"Are we leaving mistress?" Questions the girl.

"Yes, we should be able to make our way to Dumnonia before nightfall, then we'll head east and follow the coastal paths" I answer as we both leave the inn.

"Ah, excuse me" Chimes a voice from behind us, great.. If this is another group of people wanting to try their luck.. I'm not holding back this time! I howl in my mind before turning to find, to my mild surprise, a single Elf.

"Oh.." I start as my eyes look around.. Nope he's on his own.. "Yes?"

"I'm sorry but I overheard you say that you are on your way to Dumnonia, is this correct?" Questions the rather slender looking Elf.

"Yes" I deadpan.

"If it isn't too much to ask, would you mind if I accompanied you there?"

"Ha, look buddy.. I don't need anyone to look after me" I retort, maybe alittle too harshly.. Ugh, that flaming Paladin's gone and ruffled my feathers.. Do I really look like a damsel in distress that much that people have to help me.. I bet this guy's got some ulterior motive.

"Mistress?" Prods Maria, pulling me from my thoughts.

"Huh?"

"The Elf just explained his situation.. And you were staring off into space.. Mistress"

"What?.. Oh, um.. Sorry about that.. Okay, I'm listening" I state, slightly embarrassed at my zoning out.

"Well, I have a friend in Dumnonia, and while the monsters during the day average at level 40, the ones that come out at night are much stronger.. So would you mind if I joined your party?" Retells the Elf as he offers me his hand. "My name is Cezary"

Taking the Elf's hand in my own, feeling the bones in his hands creak under my strength, and shake. The man let out a sigh and rubbed his hand after I let go. "Freya, and this is Maria" I state before adding. "When are you ready to leave"

"So you'll allow me to travel with you?" Asks Cezary.

"Aye, but we're not partying up, if you stay about twenty-five or so paces from me, I'll take all the aggro" I reply easily.

"Then I am ready whenever you are" States the man.

"So you're heading to Dumnonia? I guess I tag along again then" Whispers a red haired man in the distance to himself.

"Good, just don't get in my way and we'll be fine" I reply as the guard walks out of his house.

"Ah, Miss Freya, leaving so soon?" Asks the guard.

"Aye, would you mind doing me a favour?" I ask as I walk up to the man.

"Of course, anything for the heroine of our town"

"Take these items and sell them in the markets, use the money to help the town however you see fit" I state as I pass the man some old level 60 gear.

"Th-Thank you Miss Freya" Exclaims the man before adding. "I'll have the money put towards the school building, with this they'll be able to build ten schools in the town" Laughs the guard as he puts the items into his house and returns to open the gate moments later.

"See you soon" I wave as me and my companions head towards the next city on my journey to the capitol of Britannia. I quickly take note of the figure standing on the wall as he jumps and somersaults out of view. Great, so our not-so-stealthy-person is still following.. Ugh, I'll have to deal with them at some point.

The walk was rather peaceful, our companion didn't really say anything and just walked behind us, with the occasional shout to inform me of monsters trying to get on my flank. Maria didn't say much anyway, seeing as she was my _servant_ I guess she'd only speak if spoken to.. Or if she felt it necessary for her to talk. So yeah, for the most part I just had me and myself to talk to, much like I'm doing now..

Although.. That person is still following through the forest, using the treetops to keep out of view.. Well whoever they are, they've had some serious free-running lessons.

We'd been walking for a fair few hours and Maria was starting to pull a funny face.

"Maria? Are you okay?"

"Y-Yes mistress" Replied the girl. Not completely convincingly.

"Are you sure?" To this the girl moved slightly closer, her face taking on a slightly red tone.

"Mistress, I need to go to the toilet" Whispered the girl, embarrassed.

"Aye, that's okay.. Here" I state as I hand her a few essentials from my magic bag.

"B-But mistress.. What about.." Whispers Maria as she turns to look at Cezary. "What if he peeks?"

I could hardly hold in my laughter. "Don't worry I'll make sure he doesn't" I reassure the girl.

"Promise?" Whispers the girl holding up her pinky.

"I promise" I reply linking her pinky with my own. "Now go wee, before you wet yourself" I chuckle.

"Y-Yes mistress" Replies the girl, as I mark her as my Avenger target.. This way I'd know if anyone targets her with an attack, or if she gets injured. "Avenger command, HP link" I whisper activating one of my Avenger abilities.

"Are we stopping for a break?" Asks Cezary as he sits on a rock.

"Aye, five minutes" I reply.

"Ahh, good.. Time for some more wet cracker" Mumbles the Elf as he roots through his bag. Giving me a chance to actually look at the 'Elf'. He was quite short for a Elf as most of them were at least 6 foot tall, he stood around five eight, maybe five nine. As mentioned before his body was very slender, he looked like he'd break even if I just flicked him, I giggle at my thoughts, bringing attention to myself.

"Hmm? Have I got something on my face?" Asks Cezary as he wipes his mouth.

"No no.. I was just remembering a joke a friend of mine once said" I cover up as I continue my examination of the man.

His hair was nearly in competition to my own, his long white hair being tied into a single ponytail reaching to the small of his back. Who am I kidding, my red hair reached down to my backside, then again.. Put into perspective out height difference.. His hair could actually be exactly the same length as mine. However, he had chosen a bright blue for his eye colour, it went well with his white hair as the hair complimented the colour of his eyes. And his trademark elf ears were pointed into an upward angle like most elves.

Just as I was about to compliment the man on his choice of character, an alarm rang out, my HP taking a small blow and a large set of cuts appeared on my arm. My hand reached Dragnipur and I charged into the bushes where I watched Maria walk behind.

"Avenger technique, Strike back!" I yell as a rage burns inside me.. How dare anything attack Maria!


	5. Chapter 5

**Hiya!.. Sorry that this chapter has taken so long to get out but I've been ridiculously busy ..**

 **Anyway, I'm glad that my small group of followers (namely: Hell Devil 13, Phantomtwriter, Sapptor, ShadeZyro, ab10599, bored kid 48, lVergill and Tumpelo) are enjoying the story. As I've said once or twice now, it's all on you!.. Aye! Y'all be the reason why I come home after hours and hours of working.. To write.. Yup, all your fault!**

 **But on another note, I'd like to thank you all once again for keeping your PM's and reviews coming!.. If you'd like to make any suggestions or if you'd like to have a chat about your OC, or just a general 'get to know the author' session just send me a message.**

 **Also if you are new to the story and have got to this point aaa~nd are thinking to yourself 'Oh I'm too late to submit a OC'.. Well you need to slap yourself around the back of your head.. Think about it.. It's a massive world, so I can have new characters popping up at any time.. Try mixing things up.. I know one or two characters aren't going to be what you think they are.. But that's something to find out later ^-^.**

 **So yeah.. Still accepting OC's over here, yep that's it.. Single file please.. Keep your ticket!**

 **Thor's Farts, I didn't think so many people would like this story, it's pushing 500 views and it's been up less than a month.**

 **Now I wasn't going to finish the last chapter where I did.. I know, I suck at cliffhangers. Sorry.**

 **So, let's continue from where we left off!**

Darting through the bushes I felt another set of deep lacerations mark my body, this time it was my back.. It was painful, but right now I didn't care.. All the pain told me was that my ability _HP link_ was still active.

HP link is an Avenger ability, that makes the user's HP equal to the mark's HP, it also transfers any damage that the mark sustains to the user. For instance if I used the skill on a level 10 mage who has about 650HP, my HP would drop to 650 too. This is why the ability is rarely used, because damage sustained from 'taking' your mark's hits ignores your stats.. Which means if your mark is hit for 400HP.. You lose 400HP.. However, right now my HP is at 637/925, meaning that the last two hits together dealt nearly 300 damage, so roughly 150 damage each hit.

With my _Strike Back_ technique active, Dragnipur had no difficulty connecting it's cold steal with the assaulting monster. The creature was sent back against a nearby tree, along with what looked to be two familiars.

Strike back, another Avenger ability. This one grants a 100% chance to hit and knock back whoever or whatever is attacking your mark.

"Mistress?" Cries Maria as she holds her arm where the wounds should have been.

"Maria! Stay back!" I order as I charge into the plant-like monster, my blade, easily slicing through it's body. The monster let out a scream and lashed out with vine like appendages, most of which I easily blocked, however, I noticed one get through and was heading straight for Maria.

"Wall of the Undying Saint" Whispers Cezary, casting a defensive barrier around Maria.

The attack from the monster hit the barrier, and I made sure it would do nothing else by severing it from the main body. Once again the monster let out a scream, off in the distance came the sound of more identical screams. Right.. Screw this!.

"Avenger's Release!" I shout as my HP, and stats returns to me. "Now let's see!.." I begin shouting as I cleave Dragnipur through the middle of the plant, ending the monster's existence, until it respawns of course.

"How many of you I need to kill before you get the picture!.. Holy Rite!" I howl, activating one of my Paladin skills and drawing the attention of everything within 50 metres.

I could feel hundreds of eyes looking at me from inside the walls of the trees, letting out another roar I readied myself. Just in time too, as a large group of treents came charging towards me.

"They average at around level 58!" Comes a voice from above me.

Just as I was about to look up I feel a hard force push against my blade.

"Summon – Lesser Fire Demon" Chants the voice as it's owner comes into view.

"Wait! You're the guy from the tavern!" I yell, somewhat baffled as I cut one treent in half.

"I am indeed, I hope you enjoyed my display" Grins the red haired elf as his summon crackles to life.

"And following.. Us a-.. Around.. Since.. Last town?" I manage to speak while blocking attacks with Dragnipur. So come on!.. I thought the guy was an assassin.. What summoner in their right mind climbs trees.. Maybe he's looking for something.. My thoughts were cut short as the sound of breaking glass fills my ears.

"Barrier down!" Yells Cezary, before returning to his chanting, in an attempt to cast a second, or third?

"Aye! I got that!" I yell back, as a smirk forms on my face. "Make the world as black as midnight!" I yell as I send Dragnipur into the ground with my signature _Earthquake_ skill, it didn't really have much of an effect on the treents, thanks to their roots, however, it knocked down the animals that had slowly come closer during the fight.

"Barriers back up!" Yells the white haired elf, as he starts a new chant.

"MP is holding steady" States the red haired elf as he jumps back, dodging an attack.

Pulling my sword from the ground my smirk turns into a massive grin. Dragnipur was now ablaze which made each of my strikes, literally, melt through the treents, if they didn't die from the attack they too were set on fire. The burning treents became a weapon as they set others near to them on fire as well. "This is going to be fun!" I scream as I hack and slash my way through the monsters. "Quick Slash!" I cry out my skills as the system guides both me and my blade. "Hell Cleave!"

"She seems to be enjoying herself" Deadpans the redhead as he watches the blazing trail of destruction left in the woman's wake.

"Abyssal Smite!.. Whirlwind Slash!.."

"I agree" Nods Cezary, slightly unnerved by the spectacle. That was until she performed a mid-air somersault attack, that gave the two men a perfect view of her _discrete areas._ Suffice to say, both men now had horrific nose bleeds.

"Darting Assault!" I shout as my blade slices a wild boar in half and I feel the system grant me a speed boost to reach my next target. I love this! It's so exhilarating! Come on! "Fight me!" I yell activating another Holy Rite. This time the monsters attacked together, overwhelming me to start with, but making me smile non the less.

"It looks like she's.. Oh.. Nevermind.. Does anyone know what level she is?" Begins the redhead, before half the mob gets set on fire and the warrior dances around her blade, switching from blocks to attacks effortlessly, seeming no worse for wear.

"To hazard a guess I'd say she's at least level 70" States Cezary.

"Yeah, with crazy powerful skills like those" Agrees the other elf, before turning to the small girl stood watching the battle with fearful eyes. "Hey, she'll be fine.. Just look at her.. She's loving it" Smiles the elf as he pats the girls head.

"But there are so many of them, can you two not help?" Asks Maria quietly.

"I'm afraid we'd just get in the way little one, so how did you two meet?" Questions Cezary.

"My mistress saved me" States the girl, her eyes never moving from the one-woman-army.

"The kid takes role play to the next level" Laughs the red-haired elf.

Cezary, however, had previously noticed that the child wasn't a real player and was instead an NPC. "She's not role playing"

"What do you mean?" Asks the other elf, confused.

"She's an NPC"

"Oh.. Well that explains it.. Wait.. What the hells an NPC doing following around a player and calling her mistress?" Splutters the redhead.

"I don't know maybe she's a retainer or something" Replies Cezary.

"She's not a retainer" I state while looking at both elves, practically standing next to them.

"Oh.. You're fini-" Begins the redhead before I grab him by the scruff of the neck.

"Why are you following me? Are you a stalker?" I question harshly as I push the elf against a tree.

"N-.. No" Manages the elf.

"Good" I state as I release his collar. "Reno, wasn't it?"

"I'm surprised you remember" Coughs the elf while rubbing his neck.

"You answered my second question.. Care to answer the first?"

"Of course, Miss Crusher of Windpipes" Smirks Reno before I glare at him, wiping the smile from his face. "I was following you because you looked interesting, and I overheard that you're travelling to Londenium"

"Ann~d?" I chime.

"And I want to go there, I want to find the Part-Time-Paragons.. And I want to join up" States Reno with a proud look.

"Oh.. Really.. You want to join that bunch of idiots and crazies?" I smirk as his pride falters slightly.

"They're not idiots.. Or crazy.. They're some of the best players on the server, nobody messes with a paragon and they play by their own rules.. They don't care about anything, other than having fun together"

"You seem to know a lot about them.." I mumble, as fond memories replay in my mind, he's right we didn't care about anything other than having fun, getting our names on first clear stones and doing what we wanted.

".. and that's why I want to join up" Finishes Reno.

I feel a light tugging on my skirt, turning to find Maria. "Yes?"

"Mistress, you zoned out again"

Oh crap, I really need to stop doing this.. What?.. This!.. What I'm doing right now.. Come on Francesca! Focus! "Oh, sorry.. Yeah, no I don't think they'll let you join"

"What? Why?" Questions a downtrodden Reno.

"Because they never formed a guild, they were either solo players or were already part of a guild. Most of them didn't even know each other before the paragons.. They only came together as a party, instead of dealing with the whole politics of the guild life.. It was a shame really.." I mumble.

"But maybe now we are here they'll consider creating a guild, and if they do.. I want to join!"

"Fine, you can come to Londenium with us, I'm Freya and the little girl is Maria" I state as I turn and head in the direction of the next town.

"Great!" Shouts Reno as he fist pumps the air. "So will we encounter any bosses on the way there? How long do you think it'll take before we're at the city? Will we get to find some cool items? What if.."

I could feel a pressure build up in my head, ugh.. He's just like the pervert!.. We'll see if you make it to Londenium.. At this rate I'll throw you off a cliff!

It took all my willpower not to make good on my promise, but at last the city of Dumnonia came into view.

".. was amazing" Finishes Reno's telling of his.. Oh let's see.. it's got to have been the one hundredth and something story.. Oh god he gets on my nerves.. And I never thought I'd ever say this.. But I would rather have the pervert.. Good lord, what if they become friends?.. Oh my life would be hell.. Please if there is a god.. Don't let this happen.. Ever.

"I forgot to ask.. What business do you have in Dumnonia?" I quiz Cezary.

"As I said I have a friend there who makes all my chant scriptures"

"A scribe?" Asks Reno, surprising me that he knew the chant scriptures were crafted by them.

"Indeed, he's the reclusive type, so I want to check up on his too, if he's trapped here then he might need a friend to let him know it's going to be okay" Explains Cezary.

"That's nice of you" I state as I strut ahead.

"I would never have made it here if it wasn't for you.. So I think you are the one being nice" Replies Cezary quietly.

Great!.. I scream in my head as I feel my cheeks once again warm up.. Why the hell does this keep happening!

"Ah, don't mention it. It was on my way anyway" I reply trying to keep my composure.

"I appreciate it none the less" Whispers the white haired elf.

"Mistress"

"Yes Maria?"

"Does anyone in this city know you?" Asks the girl in a small voice.

"Not really, I never really came through Dumnonia because I had access to the transport gates before I needed to come to the cities here" I reply, maybe I should have made the effort to visit each city.. Might have been able to get some more freebies.

"Does that mean we will have to pay for the inn?" Questions Maria as she taps two fingers together.

"Don't worry, I'll cover the cost" I smile while patting the little girls head.

"Thank you mistress"

"So how big of a tab do we get for room service?" Questions a perked up Reno, at the sound of all-expenses-paid.

"You don't get room service" I deadpan. "If you want something to eat or drink.. Go downstairs and get it yourself"

"Understood" Answers Reno cautiously.

"Do you need a hand finding this friend of yours?" I ask Cezary as we walk through the town gates.

Dumnonia was one of the larger cities in the Kingdom of Britannia, and was located in the northern-most reaches of it's territory. A booming trade city that was the last stop for traders heading from Britannia up into Alba, and the first stop for traders heading down from Alba and into Britannia. As such the guild known as The East Indian Trade Company, had established a massive foot hold here, becoming influential and very, very rich in the process. The East Indian Trade Co. focused solely on the crafting of high-level and high quality items and were by far the best at it. The market wasn't just dominated by them.

Oh no.. That would be too easy..

No, in most cases they actually owned the market, bringing in a steady and constant income from sale and purchase taxes. They were also very clever as they would craft city specific items, for instance a Dumnonian Chestplate, that could only be crafted in Dumnonia, using materials located in it's zone. They would then transport these items to the other cities to sell at higher prices, the further away you go the better price you'll get. The only problem was that large-goods wagons couldn't go through the transport gates and had to be transported by mount drawn wagons. Which also means that they can only go a certain distance before they have to let their mounts cooldown.

Once again.. They got wise to this after their very first shipment was raided while they rested.

At first they hired protection from combat guilds one in particular excelled in protection, the ArchAngels. As time went on and the shipments got larger and larger, the ArchAngels had to put more and more guards forward. Before long the ArchAngels were raking in 50% of the profits as payment, which was unacceptable in the eyes of the EITC. Instead of paying for a guild of veterans to protect their money the EITC began training their own guards, which opened up more roles for their members. Seeing as most people left the guild when they'd made their small fortune to tread a different road, wanting to fight monsters and beat dungeons instead.

"No no, I'm sure he'll be in his usual spot" Replies Cezary as he walks ahead. "Thanks again" States the elf as he waves.

A few seconds later I'm greeted by a pop-up asking if I want to become friends with the recently left elf, I tap yes as a smile grows on my face.

"So what should we do first then?" Asks Reno as his head darts around, taking in the sights of the city.

"Bath" I reply as I suddenly feel the effects of the fighting and walking I'd done. "Bee~d"

"They have a bath house" Suggests Reno.. Realising his mistake as I plant my hand on the back of his head.

The slap caused everything and everyone to go quiet for a second before returning to their lives. Well all apart from Reno, who had ended up being flung into a stall.. Woops.. It's easy to forget how high my strength stat is..

"Sorry" Grumbles Reno as he pulls himself out of the wreckage, rubbing the back of his head. "Forgot about the whole.. You being a girl.." Once more he made a mistake.. I mean.. Is he trying to insult me.. Maybe he likes being slapped.. Oh god.. He really is just like the pervert..

The poor red-haired elf was once more pulling himself out of another wreckage as he turned and smiled, rubbing his head again. "Sorry"

With a huff, I made my way to the nearest inn, hoping to get a wet cracker, a glass of water, a bath and a bed.. In that order..

 **Hello again everyone.. Again I'm really sorry you've had to wait so long for this chapter.. Although I'm sure I warned you all that updates might be slow and far between.. Anywhoo~ Wow!.. There's so much love for this story going on.. I mean.. Just WOW!.. In the time I've written this chapter I've had another 3 OC's submitted.. I've lost count of how many I have now.. I will try and get all of them in soon.. As we have a lot of opportunities for cameos while Freya, Maria and Reno are travelling around.**

 **Just to answer a few reviews :3**

 **Tumpelo – Yeah.. I was on a roll.. Until work swallowed me whole and wouldn't spit me back out until I worked my 17 days straight.. Yay..  
No.. no yay.. It was not a yay moment.. Just no..**

 **ShadeZyro – Sorry, you guessed wrong.. I know.. When I saw Reno at first I was like.. Oh he'll be a monk.. Or something.. But no he's in fact a parkour loving summoner.  
Freya had a hard time IRL, parents never around, bullies at college (because there are bullies everywhere) and everything else.. Yes this is going to be a new her.. I hope you enjoyed the chapter :D**

 **Phantomtwriter – Thank you, thank you.. I do try doing a lot of research before I start writing and anything I don't know I re-watch a couple of anime episodes.**

 **Haseo – Your OC sounds a lot like Kirito from SAO.. I don't know if that's what you were going for but if it was I'll try and portray him similar to the BlackSwordsman. Thanks for your OC and I'm glad you are enjoying the story!**

 **Iios – Thanks for your OC.. Oh and as for Freya being a veteran.. All will be explained in a later chapter.. Just wait and see! Aye I wanted to make things a little different, like how the players effect the world around them.**

 **Hopelessromantic34 – Yep I got your OC!**

 **TheDeceivingMagus – I didn't know.. But I do now :D  
I try to add humour in where I think it fits but yeah I'm just glad so many people are enjoying my story ^-^ I got your OC.. And thanks for F&F'ing :3**

 **And to every reader out there: Thank you!**

 **I see you soon!  
Much Love,**

 **01L**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hellooo~**

 **Yep I'm back with another update for my lovely readers!.. Yeah that's you! Duhh.**

 **Firstly.. ShadeZyro.. You good sir, are brilliant.. You have managed to write a review for each chapter!.. I love this guy! 3 Ahem, anyhoo~ Yeah.. I'm hoping that he'll get into mischief and bring some more giggles and chuckles to the story.**

 **Secondly Iios.. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter..  
*joins in happy dance***

 **Aww, only two of my lovely readers wrote anything for me last chapter *sad face*.. Come on guys and gals!.. Hit me up! :D.. I don't bite.. Honest.. Okay, okay.. That one time.. Ugh.. He totally deserved to be bitten!**

 **Continue? No.. I'm just going to talk more.. Lalalala!  
*gets dragged away by Freya***

" **Come on! You got work to be doing!.. Oh.. Hey everyone!.. Let's keep going with my story huh?.. Yeah that's what I thought.. See everyone wants to read the story.. So get your fine ass typing!"**

 **Shesh.. Okay.. Here goes**

A yawn, a stretch.. And once again, a damn near heart-attack..

"Maria!" I scream at the groggy and somewhat blurry image of the small girl, once again intruding on my personal space.

"I.. Was just bringing you your breakfast.. Mistress.." Mumbles the girl in a small voice as she leaves the room.

"Mmm~.." I hum, slowly falling back into sleep.

"Would you like some clothes mistress?" Mumbles the girl.

"Mhmm~ Clo-".. Oh.. Crap!.. Not again!.. I quickly dart over the side of the bed, pulling the covers over myself in the process.. Why is it so hot at night!?

"I'll wait downstairs mistress" Comes the sound of Maria's voice as her footsteps move further and further away. The door opened then closed.

Poking my head up from the side of the bed I let out a sigh and move over to the cracker.. All food.. Is cracker.. I wouldn't mind too much if it tasted like a cream cracker, like Jacobs or something.. But ohhhh~ no.. No it's got to taste like water cracker.. In other words.. It tastes like nothing! Hell, cardboard has more taste than this!.. I growl in my mind, yet as I open the platter to see the glorious looking meal my words loose their meaning.. Yeah.. Up until the point of the food touching my tastebuds.. Yep.. Cracker..

It was awhile before I stepped out of my room..

"So?" Questions Reno, leaning against the wall by my door. His voice seemed calm, which caught me off guard the most. "What's next boss?"

"Well we are here, I don't see any harm in checking out the Indian Trade compa-" I start before getting interrupted by a man walking up the stairs.

"That would be the East Indian Trade Company.. If we are to be spoken about, I'd rather you use our correct name.. Miss Freya" States the man.

"You know this g-" Begins Reno before being sent flying back into a wall.

"Who the hell do you think you are!" I roar, as Dragnipur begins materialising of it's own accord.

"Well it doesn't matter who I think I am.. After all I'm the owner of this city.." Spits the man as a grin forms on his face. "My word is law within it's walls.. And I say that you can die!" Roars the man as he dissapears.

It was a second before my eyes registered the man flicker into existence in front of me.. Just what I wanted this morning.. A blade in my gut.

"Hahahaha!" Cries the man as he twists the blade inside me.

I couldn't hold in my scream of pain as the blade twisted open the wound, I could feel blood pouring from the deep laceration and it forced my eyes closed. I don't know how I managed it but as I opened my eyes I found the man's throat in my hands.. He was wriggling, trying to break free of my tight grip..

"N-Now you're fu-fucked.." Coughs Reno as he stumbles to his feet.

Tighter and tighter, I could feel his neck creaking under the pressure. Slowly I pulled myself up and with my free hand removed the blade in my abdomen with a growl. I could feel Dragnipur screaming it's rage as it's power spiked and flared, basking me in it's flames. Before I knew it the man's neck snapped under the strain my grip was forcing upon it.

"Freya.. What the hell was that?" Asks Reno grimly, as I stare blankly at the limp body still in my grasp.

"I.. I.. I don't know.." I reply weakly as my grip falters and the body falls to the ground in front of me. Turning to see the look of fear on Reno's face pained me, although I'd only known him for a day or so now, he was still considered a travelling partner. But that look.. He.. He's scared of me..

..

..

..

I dart upright as sweat beads cover my brow, and most of my body for that matter. What!?.. I.. I'm still.. It was a dream..

"Mistress, you left your breakfast to go cold" Chimes the girl.

"Maria.." I sigh in relief as I pull the girl into a hug.

"M-Mistress?.. Is.. Is everything okay?" Whispers Maria while embracing my warmth.

"Oh.. Yes.. Sorry.. Just a dream" I mumble still holding the girl. "How's Reno?"

"He's already downstairs and has caused a few.. Incidents?" States the girl, lacking a better word.

With a sigh I break the embrace and ruffle Maria's hair. "I'll be down in a second.. Make sure it doesn't get out of control"

"Understood mistress" Chirps the girl as she skips out of the room with a smile.

Looking down at my hands I found them shaking uncontrollably.. What.. What's going to happen to us?.. All of us.. Just as I was changing a ringing sound played out in my head, the call message popping up.

"Fang?"

"Freya!.. Thank god.. Where are you?" Comes the voice of my friend.

"Dumnonia.. Why?" I question.

"Okay, make your way to Brigantia.. I'll meet you there and explain.. Also.. I'm going to need a appearance potion, I can't be running around like this.."

"What the hell Fang! You can't just give me this.. What's going on?"

"The House of Blood have taken Londenium as their own.. They've wiped out anyone that doesn't agree with their ideas.. They blockaded the cathedral and are killing anyone inside that won't join them.. What's worse is that most of the players and smaller guilds have given in an have been assimilated into their ranks.. Hang on" The sounds of blades clashing and spells exploding could be heard over the screaming.

The House of Blood, was, and will possibly always be the most infamous guild on our server, gained from the way they bullied players into doing what they want.. They weren't PKer's, everyone wished that's all they were.. No.. They have a large number of psychology students within their ranks and they know how to manipulate and convince people into doing what they want.. And people say that doctors aren't scary.. Oh hell yes they are..

"FANG!" I scream as I quickly put on the rest of my gear. "FANG!"

"Yeah, I'm here.. Sorry, who's with you?"

"I have a.. A girl with me.. And a guy" I reply not sure how to inform my friend of Maria. "What about you?"

"I found a guild that was resisting.. Leo Institute or something.. I think Titus is a trainer or teacher or whatever they have.. But yeah I've got their guild master and some of his members with me right now.. About eleven of us.." Answers Fang as I interrupt her.

"What about the others?" I bark.

"I.. I don't know.. I'm sorry Freya.. Before the attack everyone was working to help calm players, trying to get their guilds together and sorting out their own problems.. We can sort it all out when we meet up in Brigantia.. Freya.. I'll see you soon" With that Fang ended the call.

"Shit!" I scream as a rage fills me, my ground under my feet felt like it was crumbling as I walked towards the door. I walked through the doorway and I heard the door shatter as I slammed it closed.

Walking down the stairs I found a woman standing next to, no, she was behind Reno, who already had his familiar summoned, a large ghostly wolf barred it's fangs at the group of men partly surrounding the two.. Maria.. Where's Maria.. As if answering me, my eyes focused on the small girl laying amongst a broken table..

"What's going on here?!" I demand as my grip on the handrail tightens to the point of the wood splintering.

"All I needed was a couple of healing potions!" Shouts the tall woman, defending herself from behind Reno.

"I asked a question!" I roar, my rage boiling over at the sight of Maria not moving, my left eye going slightly blurry as my tears try to escape their prison.

"Freya, they just started to attack her" States Reno pointing to the woman behind him. The woman was tall, I mean she was a good bit taller than the redhead. "Maria.. Tried to calm them down.."

"You don't belong here!.. You.. You monsters! You come here.. Force our people to pay you what little money they earn!.. You steal from us!" Screams a mixture of the crowd, as more and more people gather around them. "Yeah everything was fine before you people came to our city! Get out!"

By this point my eyes were covered in a red haze, I gripped Dragnipur tightly while leaving my arm to fall limp, dragging the massive sword along and creating a line of fire behind me.

"Freya.. What should we do?" Asks Reno as he looks at me with unsure eyes.

"Stay. Out. Of. My. Way" I reply, my uncontrollable anger coated my words making them scare the guy even more.

Before Reno could reply one of the crowd threw a knife at him, catching his shoulder and causing him to cry out in pain. His familiar growled but stayed back, awaiting an order from it's master.

I, however, dragged myself closer and closer, like an impending doom I moved towards the crowd. Dragnipur howled in my grasp as my trail of fire erupted, starting small fires throughout the tavern.

With another step, I raised my weapon and just as the blade was about to cut into the man, a small cough cut through noise and the single word that followed calmed the raging inferno within me.

"Mu.. Mistress"

Dragnipur must have sensed my rage lessen, as it quickly begins to dissipate back into my inventory. I had to blink a couple of times before I could see clearly, finally able to see through the tears that had been burning my eyes red, I turn to where the small girl was laying..

"Maria.." I manage as a few more tears escape my eyes while I run over to the small girl.

Maria was quick to accept my hug and held onto my top tightly. "Sorry I didn't manage to calm them down" Mumbles the girl.

"Don't be silly.. I.. I'm just glad you are okay.." I whisper back.

"Monster! She really is.. A.. A monster!" Cries one of the many faces in the crowd.

Releasing each other from our hug I turn around to face the terror-stricken innkeeper. "Here, this is what I owe you for the rooms.." I state loudly as I throw the man a bag of coins. "And.. This should cover all the damages.. As well as be enough to fix a church roof or something" I finish as I throw over a second, larger bag of coins.

Turning to the mob, I put on my darkest grin, tilting my head in a way I was sure covered my face in shadow, leaving my bloodshot eyes to shine red just to add a little more scaryness. "Before was me somewhat out of control.. However, if you want to see a monster.." I begin in a hollow voice.

"I can show you a real monster!" I add darkly.

Suffice to say, after my recent display everyone scampered out of the tavern with their tails between their legs. Leaving me to laugh at them running scared.

"Thank you.. Reno, wasn't it?" Begins the woman as she bows slightly to the redhead.

"Yes.. And I guess, you're welcome" Replies Reno as he turns to look at me. "Sorry Freya.."

"If you ever put Maria in that kind of danger again.. I'll slowly carve down your HP in the most painful of ways, then just as you're about to die.. I'll force a healing potion down your neck and start all over again.. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal" Replies Reno, his head downcast. "I really am sorry" Adds the elf quietly.

"Don't let it happen again" I reply just as quietly.

"Who are you?" I question the woman stood behind him, while looking up at her. Wow.. She's even taller up close.. She's definitely around the 6foot mark.. If not, only a few inches off.. Her blue hair stood out against her dark skin tone and was tied into a french braid. There was also a scar that cut across her right eye, but it didn't seem to cause her hazel eyes any problems.

"Ste.. Shadina" Replies the woman.

"Aye" I reply, quickly examining the woman's info. Shadina, human, level 34, sorcerer.. "You said something about needing a couple of potions?"

"Yes, I'm planning on getting out of this city.. I don't really understand what's happening to us all, but I intend to help try to fix it.. To get us all back home"

"Rii~ght.. Well here" I state as I hold out a handful of potions.

"Thank you, so what are you three doing together? Family gaming?" Asks the blue haired woman.

Turning my head to look at Maria, Reno, back to Maria, then to Shadina.. Confused.. Oh wait she doesn't think.. Ohh~ she thinks..

"Nooo~ He wishes.. I'm sure" I laugh pointing at a dumbstruck Reno, he obviously hasn't worked out what she meant.

"Oh.. So you're not.."

"Wait.. You think.. Me.. And her?.. No, no, no.. Sorry but didn't you see what she just did to the place?.. And that was her not focused.. Man, I've seen her wipe out a whole zone's worth of monsters in a handful of minutes.. And I still doubt she was trying.." Unsure weather he was either insulting me or complimenting me more, I left him to continue his blundering.. At least it wasn't my ear he was talking off.

It took Reno around ten minutes, four punches and a bag of ice before he'd finished and only a couple of minutes passed before Shadina had come to the end of her story.

"So I'll be heading to Londenium, it's the largest of the three capitols so I'm sure there are more people there.. Someone is bound to be trying to find out how we ended up here.. And hopefully while there are some working that out there will be bits and pieces that might help us find a way back" Finishes Shadina as she gets up from her seat.

"Hey, we're heading to Londenium too, you could come with us" States Reno.

"Ah.. About that.." I start. "Well.. Actually.. I got a message from a friend that the Paragons are meeting up in Brigantia.. What's left of them" I finish.

"Why are they going there?" Asks Reno, confused.

"There's trouble in Londenium.. So they've had to change their plans" I reassure the redhead.

"May I ask?" Begins Shadina, receiving a nod from me she continues. "How is it that your friend knows what the paragons are doing?"

"Well, he's a member.. So I guess you can work out how he knows.. However, you won't get far at your level.. Why not come with us to Brigantia, then make your way to Silures.. I'm sure Lion'El and his knights will be looking into it.. He always was a goody goody.." I half offer half state.

"It would be counterproductive if I kept dying and returning here.. Yes I think that travelling with you is likely the best option, for the time being"

"So it's settled then!" Shouts Reno, still holding his bag of ice to his crotch.. Courtesy of a comment about my chest not being 'big' enough for his liking.. Yes.. Not the right thing to say when my knee was so very close.. Let's see if he learns his lesson.. Or if he really is a clone of the pervert.

"Mistress?" Mumbles Maria.

"Yes?"

"Um, what about the other elf, Mr. Cezary?.. And his friend?.." Questions the girl, her eyes looking at me with such sadness.

"Okay.. Okay.. I see if I can get a hold of him.. If he's in trouble we'll go help him okay?" I reply gently patting the girl's head as she nods.

Sifting through my friend list I find the recent member of our travelling group, then press the connect call button.

The first call rang out.. The second.. Rang out.. The third..

"H-Hello?" Comes the voice of the white haired elf. "Is this thing on this time?.. Hello?"

With a small facepalm, partially at Cezary's inability to answer the call and partially at my own worrying of the guy.

"Yeah it's working" I state calmly.

"Ah, Freya.. Hello"

"Hey, how did finding your friend go?"

"Well.. His home was trashed.. It looks like the NPC's here hate players.. I don't know where he might have gone"

"I think I have an idea.. What's his name?"

"Vergil"

"Okay meet me at the cathedral"

"On my way"

"See you there" I finish and end the call.

"So?" Asks Reno.

"I think the people of the land killed him.. If so he should be in the cathedral.. If what Cezary said is true and he's not really good with people, it's likely he hasn't left the safety of the building.. So.. That's where we are going.. After all.. That's what friends do isn't it?" I state.

"Yeah, friends help each other" Replies Maria.

"Well.. What are we still doing here.. Let's get there before Cezary ends up waiting on us"

"Wait.." Stops Shadina getting everyone's attention. "What about the NPC's?.. Do we fight them?"

"No, we've got Freya with us.. So I doubt that they will try their luck" Answers Reno.

"If they engage us, try to put them down without killing them, sleep spells, stun effects and the likes will help stop them without harming them" I finish as we head out the doors of the tavern.

 **Hello again.. Hmm.. Well.. Not much to say..**

" **Well.. Get on with the next chapter!"**

 **But.. Work.. Sleep.. Food..**

" **Stop talking! More writing.. The readers want to read!"**

 **Buuuu~t Freyy~a.. It's food that doesn't taste like cracker..**

 ***Freya's stomach growls***

 **I had a feeling that would shush you.. Fancy some toast?**

" **Is it going to be burnt?.. I'd rather stick with the crackers if you're going to burn the toast again"**

 **That.. Was an accident..**

" **I could understand the first time maybe.. But it's ALL the time!"**

 **Well if you weren't distracting m-.. Oh great.. See.. This is all your fault..**

" **We'll see you all at the next update!"**

 **Much Love**

 **01L**

" **Hey! Oy! And lots of love from me too!"**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey again.. Yeah I know right, it's not been that long since I last updated.. What am I doing back so soon?.. Oh I can go again if you'd prefer? No..**

 **Okay, I'll stay.. So yeah..**

 **As usual lets cover some messages/reviews/comments.. Those snazzy things that you lovely readers leave for me that.. Quite literally makes me happy every time an e-mail pops up! And makes me want to write more for you all!**

 **Soo~ I have a feeling that one of our newer readers (namely a Mr. Third Cosmic Velocity) and another reader (namely a Mr. TheDeceivingMagus) have met before? Am I right?..**

 **Well anyhoo~**

 **Tumpelo – I wouldn't say lazy.. Should we go for.. So absolutely astounded by the story that you've been at a loss for words? That sounds better :D.. Well yes.. I don't want to just go the same route as the canon.. I can't go boring people like that.. No, no.. Not my style.. However we will have to see how everything turns out.. The people of Dumnonia must have been through a lot when it was a game thanks to EITC owning the markets.. And controlling the taxes.. After all everyone hates the tax-man right?..**

 **Third Cosmic Velocity (TCV for short?) – I'm glad that you are enjoying it! Thank you, thank you!.. I'm glad I managed to brainwa- *cough* I mean, convince you otherwise..**

 **Iios – Don't worry about Lison, I'm sure he'll be fine!**

 **ShadeZyro – Yep.. Everything's going somewhat mad.. Freya didn't mean to loose her temper.. She'll redeem herself in this chapter I'm sure! As for Vergil.. He's had a really rough past.. Which will be revealed much.. Much later..**

 **Rundl322 – Aye! I've got to agree with you there.. I can't stand dentists.. However, I don't think they'd have the same effect as a psychologist messing with your head.. Although technically they mess with your fan- teeth.. I mean teeth.. Which are in? your head.. So I suppose they'd work.. maybe we'll see an evil dentist down the line xD.. I'm glad you liked the chapter!**

 **Anyhoo~ quickly moving on!**

 **Hmm.. Where is she?.. Weei~rd**

 **Ah well.. On with the show!**

It was strange, everything was quiet when we arrived at the city.. Something must have added fuel to their fire for them to suddenly lash out.. Ugh.. All this thinking is giving me a headache.. "And all this noise isn't helping!" I finish my thoughts verbally, while rubbing the bridge of my nose, as me and my group walk through the loud streets of the city.

Roars of hundreds of voices came from every direction, the sound of glasses smashing, the sound of people shouting, screaming, yelling and crying, the sound of statues being torn down and breaking apart.. This was like something off of a news channel, happening in some far off country where people had taken enough.. It seemed that even the law-keepers weren't answering the call.. Well I guess they are people of the land as well..

Turning the corner we were met with a building on fire, a woman crying, her arms outstretched grasping at the flames while being held back by two men. "My babies!"

I couldn't help it.. If you saw the look in her eyes.. You'd understand why within a second I was rushing into the burning building.

I drew Dragnipur and sent the blade plummeting into the ground. "Make the world as black as midnight!" I yell as Dragnipur begins to drain the fire of it's light, giving me a better chance at finding the children.

Come on.. Please be alive.. Come on.. Make a noise.. Come on.. A cry, a cough.. Come on! Anything! While raging in my head I nearly missed the tiny cough that came from one of the back rooms.. Running towards the sound I came across a toppled over bookcase.. No problem.. It took all of a couple of seconds to move, next was the door.. I made the stupid mistake of trying the handle and received a painful burn across my palm.. Nothing serious, well not in this world, but the handle had gotten so hot that it had practically welded itself shut.. Wait.. Silence.. No..

No..

"No!" I screamed out, pain rushing through me as I use both my hands and all my strength to push down the handle.. Screaming through the pain, I feel the handle give, it wasn't much.. Just enough to tell me I could do it..

Pushing.. Harder and harder..

It felt like I was there for hours..

The pain..

The smell of my flesh burning..

Oh god the pain..

With one final scream I forced the last of my strength behind me and the handle snapped clean off..

No..

What should I do?..

"What should I do!" I scream as I punch the door.. Which opened slightly.. What?!.. Opening the door wide I was met with two young children and a small baby in a basket. The boy held a blanket over, what I assumed to be, his sister and the baby. His hands were burnt.. The poor kid must have tried to open the door..

"Hey.. It's okay" I whisper as I move into the small room.

"P.. Plea.. Please.. H-.. elp.. Th.. Them.." Manages the boy as he coughs.

"I'm not here to do half a job" I state as I lift up the two children and put the basket between my arms.

"Freya!" Rings out Reno's voice. "Go! Help clear a path!" I hear him order as a few small water sprites flutter into the building, slowly but surely clearing the inferno with their water based abilities. The young children held onto my arms tightly as I lead them through the burning building. On the other side I could see Shadina working with her magic, using her own fire spells to take control over portions of the raging fire.

"Mistress!" Screams Maria as I lead the children through the exit..

The woman broke down into a fit of tears and broken thank yous as she held her children she was sure were dead.

"Mistress.. Are you okay?" Asks Maria with concerned eyes.

"Y-.. Yeah.. I'll.. Be.. Fine" I cough as I rummage through my inventory, looking for something to drink to help my burning throat.

"That was really reckless.. But selfless none the less.. You have our thanks" States one of the men that was previously holding the woman back, offering me a waterskin.

"Thank you" I smile before taking a few large swigs from the bottle. "I'm sorry about your home.. But we must be going" I state, my voice slowly regaining it's usual tone.

"A home can be replaced.. Our children could never be replaced.. We will never forget what you have done for us" States the other man as he waves to us.

"Goodbye" I wave as me and my companions continue heading towards the cathedral.

"Next time.. A little warning would be nice, boss" Chimes Reno while resting his arms behind his head. "I mean, like.. Even just.." Begins Reno before clearing his throat and mimicking my voice. "Oh hey guys, I'm just going to run into this burning building.. 'Kay, be back in a mo"

"I don't talk like that" I deadpan, a small smile playing at my lips.

"Sorry to interrupt.. But that guy over there is waving to us" Points out Shadina.

Noticing Cezary in the distance I give him a small wave.

While Reno moves his hands to his face before yelling. "Hey man!.. How's it going!?"

Me, Shadina, Cezary and even Maria all facepalmed.. Well if nobody knew we were here.. Everyone does now.. Reno.. You idiot..

"So what makes you think he'll be here?" Questions the white haired elf.

"It's by far the safest place for someone to stay.. Especially if they died and woke up in there.." I reply, looking at Maria and remembering that we met in a cathedral.

"Well there's a few things you might want to know about my friend.. He's somewhat of a pacifist.. I know it sounds strange.. But he'd much rather sort a problem out with words than fight, which is kind of hard when he rarely speaks in the first place.."

"Right, so he's a mute?" Interrupts Reno, quickly receiving a slap around the back of his head.

"Okay so what plan do you have Cezary?" I question.

"Plan?.. Well.. I thought.. You had a plan" Deadpans Cezary.

"Why don't we just go in and see if he's actually in there.. That might help" Adds Reno, making sense for a second time today.

"I guess he's got a point.. Well, Cezary you'd best go through first" I state, the white haired elf nodding in agreement.

Cezary opened the large double doors of the building and we all walked in.. Oh.. Great.. This could be harder than we thought..

"There's so many in here" Whispers Maria as we all gaze over the hundreds of people huddled together in the cathedral.

"What are they doing?" Questions Reno quietly. "Praying?"

"No.. You idiot.. They're crying" I scold, keeping my voice just above a whisper. "Cezary.. Do you see him anywhere?"

"No.. It's hard to spot anyone with so many people here.." Begins Cezary before being interrupted by me slamming the doors.

All eyes on me now..

"Right! Now I have your attention.." I begin, unsure of what to actually say.. Think Freya! Think!..

"Okay!.. So.. How many of you here are part of the EITC!?" To my question around 95% of the people raised their hands. "What's happening out there.. It's your fault.. Before we came here.. You took advantage of the NPC's! We all did it at some point! Knowing that they were just programs created to be hollow, stationary objects that gave us missions and snippets of information, that somehow made mistreating them okay.. But have you stopped and looked at them.. They are suffering.. And it is your fault! If you don't own up to your mistakes and take responsibility the people out there.. Yes! I called them people! What!? You got a problem with that!?" I yell at a group in the far corner.

"As I was saying, if you don't take responsibility of what you did in the past.. This isn't going to go away.. They think you are monsters that have stolen what little money they had.. They feel used, taken advantage of, betrayed and worst of all.. They feel helpless!.. You! All of you! Need to go out there and show them that you are just like them! Put yourselves in their shoes.. Just imagine if the taxman started taking every last penny you earned.. Imagine your parents being unable to feed you! Imagine your children going hungry!.. Imagine your brothers and sisters freezing because you can't afford anything to keep warm.. Just Imagine what those people out there have been going through!.. What you have been putting them through"

I didn't mean to be harsh.. But my mouth just kept on drilling into them.. It was a couple more points down the line before I managed to stop myself, by this point most of the people in the cathedral wore pained expressions and had their heads cast down. With a small sigh I continued.

"I know they were just NPC's before.. But now.. Just look!" I shout as I kick open the doors once more, outside stood a large crowd that must have gathered after hearing me from the other side of the door. Most of them looked startled at the sudden opening of the large double doors, whereas others still had a sparkle in their eyes, knowing that someone cared enough to defend them must have warmed some of their hearts.

"For crying out loud! Go out there and help them!" I scream at the group of players.

Slowly, a couple began to nod and agree with my points.. A few took steps outside and walked towards the people of the land.. Apologising.. They were actually apologising.. Not just that.. But the people of the land were accepting their heartfilled sorrys.. Phew.. Now that's somewhat sorted.. Time to find Vergil..

"Over here!" Calls out Cezary.. Waving everyone over.

"Hey I think he's found him" States Reno.

"Well done Mr. State the obvious" I chime while grinning as we walk towards Cezary.

"Hey Vergil.. You wouldn't believe the trouble I've been through to find you.. I can see this place has gone to hell a bit since the last time I visited" I overheard Cezary speak as we approached.

"C-Cezary.. What are you doing here?" Replies a voice.

"I was looking for you-" Begins Cezary before his friend becomes tense at the sight of me and the others. "- Whoa, it's okay.. They are my friends" Calms Cezary.

"I take it that you are the ever illusive Vergil?" I ask with a smile.

Vergil didn't look how I'd imagined him.. I thought he'd be a healer or something a little more _pacifistic_ as Cezary had explained him, however, he was in fact the same class as me.. A paladin.. Which meant that he was the most aggressive tank type class.. I don't understand how a pacifist can be a paladin.. I mean.. How the hell does that even work.. Maybe he's only a pacifist if he's facing human opponents.. As for how he looked.. Well.. He looked normal.. Raven hair, left unkempt with bangs falling across his onyx orbs.. His eyes looked dull, broken.. His stare seemed lifeless as he listened to his friend talk to him.. It was, to say the least.. A little unnerving.. It was like behind those eyes was a whole other world, full of pain, suffering and anguish..

"Mistress.." Chimes Maria while tugging at my top..

"I did it again didn't I?" I asked rhetorically.

"Yes" Answers Reno with a small chuckle.

"Sorry" I deadpan, turning my attention to Vergil who now stood next to Cezary. The guy was wearing a black and red jacket, which I noticed was the _Einherja's Jacket_ a high-quality low level item.. Which at his level of 35 must have costed him quiet a fair amount of gold. Other than the top he mostly wore standard items, his blade caught my attention more than the jacket did.

"Hey isn't that the _Muramasa_ sword?" I blurt out.

"Yes" Replies Vergil with a slightly deeper voice than I'd have expected. "Why?"

"Good choice.. Although the down side of that sword is that it consu-"

"Consumes high-quality elemental items, yes, _I know_ " Finishes Vergil for me, a small hint of venom in his words.

"I wasn't suggesting that you didn't.."

"Didn't sound like it" Retorts the dark haired man.

"I didn't mean to offend you"

"You haven't" Replies Vergil bluntly.

"Oo~kay.." I chime, feeling somewhat awkward. Shesh, I was only trying to be nice.. Next time I'll just punch him in the face!..

"Well.. This is.. Amazing.. Vergil, you managed to hold a conversation with a stranger for longer than five seconds.. Colour me impressed" States an awestruck Cezary. Seriously.. What the hell, you call that holding a conversation?..

"Hey! If you want colour.. I could sort you out.. I'm sure I got some hair dyes somewhere" Chimes Reno with a laugh. The statement brought a small smile to my face and imagining the elf with a streak of red in his white hair helped ease the awkwardness I was feeling.. Hmm, maybe a blue streak would look better..

"So, seeing as Vergil is.. O~kay?.. What are you going to do now?" I question Cezary.

"Well, I don't know about Vergil but I think I'm going to stay and help here for the time being, I'm not affiliated with the EITC so I should be fine.. But after your display I'm sure that it won't be long before the city is back up and running" Replies Cezary, with a smile. "Thanks for your help, all of you" Adds the elf as he turns to Vergil, then turns to shoot an apologetic expression my way. "If it hadn't of been for you I doubt I would have been able to find him"

"I will stay too" Deadpans Vergil.

"Don't worry, it's fine.. We've got to be on our way to the next town.. But keep me posted, okay?" I state with a small wave as we turn to leave.

"Will do" Calls out Cezary as he waves back, before turning to Vergil. "Let's see what we can do to help"

"Lets" Replies the dark haired man.

It was about an hour before we reached the main gates, mostly due to us trying to help the people we came across.. It was strange.. This city had turned into a mess so quickly..

"It'll take them a few days before they've calmed down enough to even think about rebuilding and repairs" States Shadina. "It's quite upsetting really" Finishes the woman as we walk through the gates.

"Hopefully the next town doesn't try and kill us" I sigh to Maria, the girl letting out a sigh of her own.

"I hope so too mistress"

"Well only one way to find out!" Chirps Reno. "Where's the next stop anyway?"

Opening up my map and tracing my finger across it.. Oh.. No.. Not there!..

"Well?" Presses Reno.

"Carvetia" I answer bluntly.

"Why is it that you don't sound too happy about that?" Asks Reno.

"Well.. Let's just say that I don't really get along with most of the guilds there.." I reply while rubbing the back of my neck.

"Whoa!.." Exclaims the redhead.

"What?" I retort.

"You look cute when you get all sheepish, it ma-" Begins the elf before my knee and his crotch become close friends again, making him end his sentence with a high pitched squeal, that even I wasn't sure I could make.

The action caused Shadina to laugh a little, and Maria was giggling to herself, like she always did when I put someone in their place.

"So what did you do to upset the local guilds?" Asks Shadina, contributing to the conversation once more.

"Well.. Let's just say that they just don't like me" I answer, putting on an innocent smile.

"Right.. And what's the reason for this dislike?" Presses Shadina, by this point both Reno and Maria had become interested as well. Both of them hovered around just waiting to find out.

"Ugh fine.. Two.. No sorry, three of the guild leaders there.. Have.. Well.. They.." I begin as my face slowly warms up.

At the sight of my blush, Reno pretended to faint, over dramatically might I add.

"What happened mistress?" Asks an eager looking Maria.

"Well a couple of things happened.. I got into a fight with the guild leader of the ArchAngels.. Then managed to insult the guild leader of the ARMY and then I refused to join L3G10N.." I reply.. Keeping most of the information quiet, however, my cheeks were still burning by this point.

"What's so bad about that?" Questions Maria with a confused look plastered over her face.

"People can take rejection very badly" I reply. Picking up on the lack of the mistress word.

"So.. In other words.. We _are_ heading to another city where they're going to try and kill us?" Deadpans Reno.

"Kinda guess so" I reply with a forced smile..

"Well, let's get this over with then.. I'm already tired of walking!" Complains the redhead.

"And I've already had enough of your voice" I retort.

"You two act like such a married couple" States Shadina with a laugh.

Looking at Reno, I could help but laugh as well and shortly all four of us were laughing.

"Come on.. Let's get going" I chime.

 **Hello!.. Well guys and gals.. I thought I'd try and get another chapter out for you all.. I'll try and get one more done, but I'm not promising anything.. I have my birthday coming up shortly so if I haven't updated by next week it will probably be a fortnight before I get the chance.. However, I will try my hardest to get some more chapters done.. I have a few days off before and after my birthday so I might spend a little of that time writing.**

 **It's strange.. I don't know if it's thanks to all of you who are commenting/messaging me but I'm enjoying writing this story so much!.. So thank you!**

 **And my loyalists!**

 **Much Love!**

 **01L**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey~a everyone!**

 **Yep, I'm back again.. Gee, you guys were quiet last chapter..**

 **Was it because I said I wouldn't be able to update for 2weeks?.. Well it's my birthday tomorrow, but I'm not selfish so I thought as a treat to myself I'd spend a good couple of hours today writing up another chapter as a gift to you, my lovely readers!**

 **Well, I'll just throw this at y'all and hope that you are a little more talkative this time.. Reviews really do help motivate me, and it's nice to hear from you!.. If you're a new reader, let me know what you think of the story so far.. If you're one of my regulars.. Well just do what you've been doing :D**

 **Also, if you are new and would like to submit an OC feel free, the basic info is in my end-note of chapter one and I have a template submission form on my profile that you can copy and paste.**

 **Let's get on shall we?**

"Freya! Four on the left!" Yells Reno as he jumps over a lizard like monster.

"Yeah I got 'em!" I yell back, slashing my way through another lizardman. A grin plastered over my face as more and more monsters come to face me.

"I have another three over on the right" States Shadina as she sends a couple of ice bolts at the monsters.

"Mistress, I have another two coming in from behind" Exclaims Maria as she holds onto her hammer.

We'd been travelling for half a day and had managed to come across a world quest, usually there would be a large group of players all fighting to gain the rewards.. Back when this was a game of course.. Anyway this one is known as the 'Scourge of the Lizard Lords'.. I'd done it a few times before but it never had the chance to get out of hand before.. Usually quests like this one were sorted before they had chance to develop, thanks to quests that would quell the numbers.. Further making the instance easier.. However, that isn't the case right now.. And all five lizard lords are at full strength.. Luckily they always fight each other which means that if we can wait for them to kill each other off, we can defeat the surviving lord while he isn't at full strength..

Looking around my grin became feral as I threw myself into a horde of lizards. "Holy Rite!" I scream as every monster around begins to charge at me. "Shadina! Send some fireballs at me! Reno, I'm going to need a healer-class summon! Maria.. You've got a personal workbench, mind crafting me some throwing axes, use the materials I gave you the other day" I order while readying myself for the incoming wave.

Everyone shouted their replies over the sound of the horde's howls and hisses. I wasn't focused on anything other than the fight, I couldn't help it.. Every single time I got to fight was.. Perfect.. Every clash of blades.. It was like music to my ears.. The vibrations of steal striking steal.. Oh, why would I ever want to leave this world?

Dragnipur found it's way through armour and bone as we danced around the monsters, inflicting tremendous amounts of damage.. Partly in thanks to the lizards only being between level 30 and 40.. It was never the strength of them, it was always the sheer numbers.. Groups would get overwhelmed and panic, then they'd make mistakes..

It was like a walk in the park and after the first thirty or so fell at my blade the whole thing became rather boring.. There was no challenge.. It was like cutting through butter with a red hot knife.. Then an idea came to me.. I'd asked Reno to use a healing summon..

"Reno, drop the healer!" I shouted.

"I haven't even needed to use it yet!" Came his loud reply.

Oh.. Well this sucks.. I complain while hacking my way through the horde.. Until Dragnipur hit something hard.. Much harder than.. I didn't even have a chance to finish my thought as I felt myself crash through a group of lizards before being caught.. Or rather, stopped.. By a..

Tree?

My guess was confirmed when a branch fell to the ground next to me..

It took me a second to get back up onto my feet and looking ahead I saw what had caused my sudden, 'I believe I can fly!' moment.. Just what I wanted.. To face off the first thing that killed me.. Except it's lizard faced brother..

The giant lizard looks around at the massacre of it's kin and sounds off a horrible, ear piercing roar.

"Finally.. A challenge.. I was getting bored with the small fry!" I shout at the giant, smirking while taking a quick look at it's info.. Komodo Giant. Level 55. Mini-Boss.

The giant let out another roar before charging.. Why isn't it running at me?..

"Why the hell is that thing charging at us?!" Howls Reno as he closes his tome.

"What?.. Run!" Yells Shadina as she turns and helps Maria pack up.

Just as the giant was about to reach the two females it stopped, the sound of a slithering scream echoed throughout the area.

"Oh I'm sorry.. Was this your friend?" I ask while lopping off the lizard man's other arm, it's cry of pain echoing out again.

The giant's eyes went red as it began running towards me, it's tail uprooted small trees as it swished from side to side.

Great! More trees.. I groan at the memory of the last tree-wielding giant..

"What do I look like to you fucking giants!? Huh?! A tennis ball or something!" I yell as I run towards the giant.

The others just watched, probably thinking I'm crazy.. But come on.. Why the hell have giants got to hit me with trees all the time?!

Once the giant was in range it lashed out with a flurry of claws, it moved quick for it's size and caught me with a couple of swipes.. That's it.. That's more like it!..

Running to the side I cut into the giants leg causing it to stumble slightly, it recovered quickly and caught me off guard with it's powerful tail, once again sending me flying into a nearby tree.

The giant roared out before charging at me again, once I managed to get up I ran straight for it, sliding on my knees underneath the giant, while at the same time pushing Dragnipur between it's legs.. I could hear Dragnipur growling with disgust as it cut though the monsters lower regions..

The giant let out another roar before slashing it's tail about angrily, it took the monster a minute to recover, but I couldn't get close with it's tail ripping out trees and whipping everywhere.

The monster turned and barred it's teeth at me before stomping on the ground, it was like the whole world was shaking, large cracks appeared around the giant's feet and headed right for me..

"Well two can play at that game" I whisper, my grin once again cemented on my lips as I slam Dragnipur into the ground. The two earth shattering quakes collided and tore open part of the ground, effectively creating a micro-volcano that quickly began spewing molten slag.

What happened next, however, caught me off guard.. The giant charged through the tear in the planet's crust and became covered in the recently released magma, this isn't what surprised me.. Giants are dumb.. I half expected the thing to do that.. No.. What surprised me was the fact that it didn't damage it.. Instead it simply made it's scales glow red hot.. Looking back at it's info I was further surprised, it now read.. Molten Komodo Giant. Level 60. Mini-Boss.

"You're joking right!" I yell before the Giant charges towards me. "Fine, you want serious.. I'll give you serious!" I shout as I charge Dragnipur. "Make the world as black as midnight! Rip the light of day asunder! Make only the worthy see the light! Turn all creation to darkness! Bask in the holy light! And brighten my wrath!" I chant as Dragnipur begins to glow, flames of pure white coat the blade and my arms, while my sigils try to keep up, the black glow mixing an aura of darkness with light. Suffice to say, my grin had faded into a scowl.

In the distance Reno began summoning the water spirit _Aughisky_ , it was a long summon chant as the raging water horse summon was currently his strongest and would be perfect for fighting a fire based monster. The giant probably thought that it had given itself the upper hand, Reno, however, was about to prove it wrong.

Off to the other side sat Shadina as she created small orbs of water, increasing in number slowly but surely. _Water Orbs_ were never a very powerful spell, but Shadina looked like she knew what she was doing as there were about ten of the watery spheres already floating around her.

Maria sat behind her with what looked to be a pack of wolves laying around her while she worked, forging my new axes.

The giant reached me and swung it's claws, the sharp talon like extremities cut deep wounds into my abdomen, the superheated dagger-like talons burnt the areas around the wounds as well placing a de-buff on me for the remainder of the fight. I jumped back before it's second hand had the same chance but instead I was caught by the tail, that wrapped around my leg and threw me into another tree then launched me into the ground. A quick glance at my HP and I noticed that I was already down to about 70%.. That was before the giant decided to stamp on me a couple of times before once again sending me flying, this time it was with a kick.. At least it wasn't a home-made tennis racket.. But I still ended up crashing into another tree, although this one fell down with me.. Which was considered an achievement in my book, but it didn't make the experience feel any less painful.

47%.

The next slash of the giants claws I was ready for, I swung Dragnipur around and put the blade to my back, I turned just as the lizard went to grab me and activated a somersault slash. The force behind the attack was enough to slice off the monster's hand, and it reeled in pain. While the monster was preoccupied with howling I slashed at it's leg, making it fall to one knee. It's tail swung around once again and hit me in the face with enough force it sent me sliding back a fair few feet.. Although it didn't really hurt, opening my eyes I found a few small orbs of water evaporating, looking down I found more, cooling the burns I'd sustained from the super heated giant.

43%.

My battle-regeneration wasn't working.. That bloody de-buff.. What was worse was the fact that the Giant was still standing at a safe 66%..

That was soon to change.. Thanks to Reno as he finished chanting.

".. and wash away their sins!" Shouts the summoner as the sound of rushing water fills the air, quickly followed by a horse made of crystal clear water.

The Aughisky galloped straight into the burning giant.

The water horse sent wave after wave of attacks at the giant, lashing out with it's sharp hooves as well as using it's body as a ram, and the water surrounding it to encase the giant in the cooling liquid. The elemental bonuses went through the roof as the giants HP began to drop dramatically, however, just like the water orbs the Aughisky was slowly evaporating.

Shadina worked quickly, depleting the last of her MP in a last ditch effort to help the water spirit by sending a large _Water Blast_ towards the summon.

"Great idea!" Yells Reno as he notices his summons HP jump back up to 50% thanks to the additional water from the woman's spell.

"I hope it's enough, that's all I had.. I'll keep Maria safe with my beasts!" Replies the woman as she calls out some more wolves, revealing her sub-class as animal trainer while at the same time dashing my hopes that Maria had been the one to summon the wolves.

"How much MP do you have left!?" I shout to Reno while downing another extreme health potion, in an attempt at raising my groups chance of survival.

"I've got about 20% left!" Comes the redhead's reply. "Aughisky is at 30% HP he's not going to last much longer!" Adds the elf as his summon burns through his MP.

"Okay you've probably gotten a lot of aggro because of the attacks! Move behind me and try to kite it around in a circle so I can get some hits while he's trying to get you!" I order, remembering it as one of the tactics that I'd used before when fighting a high-level boss monster, that time was with three tanks and healers as well as dps, make a point on the healers!.. We'll have to pick one up in the next town.. I snapped myself free of my thoughts just in time to see Reno's summon vanish in a pillar of steam. Taking a quick look I was now at 82% and the giant was struggling at around the 33% mark.. Good.. We can win this..

"Here he comes!" I shout to Reno behind me while readying an attack of my own.

Once the giant was in my range I jumped up and swung my sword at it's face, the wound cut from it's nose to it's ear and managed a critical hit. That wasn't all, I quickly followed the attack with another and used a _Blade Tornado_ , after that skill finished I linked a _Quick Slash_ and a _Thrust Strike_ to continue my assault.

The giant stumbled backwards as I chipped away at it's HP. Now!.. I thought to myself as I activated my _Hell Cleave,_ the attack connected with the giant's legs and caused the monster to fall onto it's back.

Before anyone could blink I was on top of the giant, the tip of Dragnipur's blade pointed at the giant's throat.

" _Angels Cremation_ " I whisper as I plunge my great-sword into the giant's neck. Dragnipur quickly released all the power it had absorbed and the giant's body lit up in holy flames, it became nothing more than ash in a few seconds.

In the distance I heard the familiar 'next level' pop-up chime a couple of times, turning I found Reno standing at level 45, levelling up 3 times after receiving the partial completion rewards. Shadina, however, had jumped from level 34 to 39.. So power-levelling was still a thing even now.. Even I was lucky and got a single level up.. I was nearly there before we came across the quest but yell, a level up is nice no matter how close you are to it.

Level 68 huh?.. Doesn't feel much different..

Turning around I couldn't stifle my laughter as I saw Reno still running around in a circle.. That idiot..

"Reno.. It's o-" Began Shadina before seeing me put a finger to my lips.. The woman let a mischievous smile form on her lips as she nodded in understanding.

 _Let's leave him to figure it out._

With this battle finished we could move further into the lizardmen's territories.. And I had a certain red haired elf in mind to be our scout.. Seeing as he likes to be up in the trees..

By the time Reno had realised that there was no more fighting going on, me and Shadina were in stitches.

"Wa.. Wahs.. S.. Fun-ny.." Pants the elf as he drags himself over to the rest of us.

"You've been running in circles.." Begins Shadina before bursting out in laughter again.

"You do realise that when you're kitting you need to run in a large circle.. Not around yourself" I state laughing slightly.

"W.. Why didn't you say that?" Retorts a hurt Reno with a huff.

"I thought you knew how kitting worked" I reply, patting the elf on the back. "At least you know for next time"

"How long was I running around?" Questions the elf.

"Oh.. Only a couple of minutes after Freya finished killing the giant" States Shadina as she waves off her wolves.

"I guess I didn't need you to kite after all" I mumble sending a smile towards Reno before adding. "Sorry about that"

The smile must have caught the guy off guard as he didn't say anything for a couple of moments.

"It's okay.. So.. What's next?" Asks the redhead changing the subject.

"Next, you get to climb some trees while we set up camp" I state.

"Huh?" Adds the elf, dumbstruck.

"I need you to scout out the lizardmen's territories, unseen.. So seeing as you enjoy being in the trees I was sure you wouldn't mind being the scout" I clarify.

"Ok, I can do that.. Just watch what they're doing then come back.. Easy, I'll be back once I find something" Accepts Reno as he walks towards a nearby tree, giving a half-hearted attempt at a wave.

"Will he be okay?" Asks Maria.

"He'll be fine.. And just in case.." I state dropping my voice to a whisper. "Avenger Mark, Reno"

"Okay.. I finished your axes.." Mumbles the girl as she holds up a set of throwing axes.

"They look great" I state while picking one up. "Good weight, nice balance.. Yep, these will do perfectly" I add while ruffling the girl's hair. "Thank you"

"Y-You are welcome mistress" Replies the girl.

"How are we going to set up a camp.. We don't have anything to make a camp" Exclaims Shadina.

"No, no.. We have plenty" I reply while digging through my magic bag. "Here.. Magic tents.. Basic stove.. Small fire pit.." I continue through the list of camping items in my huge inventory, while the other two stare at me gawking at the size of the things coming out of my small bag.

 **Hey everyone! :3**

 **Just a couple of quick replies!**

 **Iios, you are very welcome!**

 **bored kid 48, I know right.. I thought it would be an interesting idea to play with.**

 **What does everyone think will happen at the next city?**

 **Who knows.. I might even use one or two of your ideas!**

 **Well.. I'll try and get the next chapter sorted soon**

 **As always!**

 **Much Love**

 **01L**


	9. Chapter 9

**Helloo~**

 **Sorry it's taken awhile for me to get back!**

 **Let jump straight to it shall we?.. I'll do my replies in the end AN.**

 **See you there!**

It was a few hours before Reno returned with his findings.

'There are two different coloured lizardmen out there, one side are red and the others are blue.. They were openly fighting each other and it looked like the blue ones had an advantage as their attacks did more damage to the reds.. The blues pushed through three red camps before they were defeated.. Not bad considering they were massively outnumbered'

"Okay well you get some rest and I'll take Shadina off watch" I smiled the elf as he let out a sigh. "You did good Reno" I add as I walk out the tent.

Shadina was sat next to the small fire we had made, deep in thought and playing with the flames, creating a small orb of water and trying to merge the wet orb with a burning one.

"Shadina?" I whisper as I move closer to the sorcerer, trying my best not to startle her.

"Yes?" Replies the tall woman as she turns her attention to me, her water orb engulfing the flames and instantly putting them out.

"You can get some sleep if you'd like.. I'll take this watch" I state as I take a seat next to the fire.

"Oh, are you sure?"

"Yeah, surely you need some rest" I answer with a small smile.

"What about you?"

"Huh?.. I was just resting?"

"Did you sleep?" Asks the woman a tinge of concern in her tone.

"I.. Well.. Umm"

"That's what I thought, have you actually slept since we all came here?"

"Y-Yes" I reply weakly.

"More than just an hour at a time?.. Have you actually slept properly?"

"..."

"Would you like to talk?" Asks the woman with a small smile. "It might help?"

"I'm fine.. Honest" I reply with a forced smile, hoping it would be enough to convince the woman.

"Okay well, if you need someone to talk to.. I'm a good listener.. If that's all I think I'll try and get some rest, night Freya"

"Good night Shadina" I mumble as I cast my eyes over the fire.

Once everyone was sound asleep I turned to my menu, opening it and selecting messages I took a look through all my old mail, from back when this was just a game.

'Fang: Heya Freya! So how did you get on with your date last night? I hear you were up all night! I hope you didn't get up to anything naughty in your private quarters'

'Me: No.. Shut up Fang.. Just because I can pull more girls that you could dream of!'

'Fang: Hey, come on there's no need for that.. Why bring my bad luck with ladies into this?'

'Me: You were asking for it'

'Faris: Boob-2-Boob action! I love it! Why wasn't I invited.. I'd love to come around and watch you and your girlfriend getting hot with each other!'

'Refia: Faris.. You love anything to do with the female body.. Shesh, you're such a perv!'

'Titus: Refia, you're just jealous that Freya hasn't invited you into her room'

'Refia: Shut up!'

'Refia: Shut up!'

'Refia: Shut up!'

'Refia: Shut up!'

'Lulu: You do know that you can't hide what he said by spamming the chat right? And that spamming the chat makes it more obvious that there is something you are trying to hide?'

'Calico: Well it's been great listening to you guys tease each other but I'm off to sleep, night everyone'

'Athelstan: G'night old man!'

'Calico: Whatever, catch you all Thursday!'

'Me: Nighty night Calico!"

'Lulu: Night'

'Calico status change: Offline'

'Lulu: I wonder what his kids are like?'

'Fang: Who knows.. I wonder what his wife is like'

'Me: What the hell Fang!'

'Fang: What?'

'Lulu: Woah, Fang that's too far.. That's the guy's wife you're talking about'

'Fang: What? I didn't mean it sexually or anything!'

'Faris: Hey it's okay man! I mean I bet she's a smoking hot gamer babe with huge breasts'

'Fang: How'd you come to that conclusion Faris?'

'Refia: That's his idea of the average woman -.-' eh Faris? What am I like?'

'Faris: You my dear are like an angel fallen from heaven, your beauty is otherworldly.. You bring new meaning to the word divine.. So can I get your sizes? Maybe a vid-chat? A naked vid-chat?'

'Lulu: pahaha! And you were doing so well Faris!'

'Me: Pervert!'

'Refia: On that note, I'm off.. Night all!'

'Faris: Vid-chat?'

'Refia: GOOD NIGHT FARIS!'

'Me: Night Refia'

'Refia: Sweet dreams Freya'

'Refia status change: Offline'

'Fang: Freya, want to go grind some mobs?'

'Titus: Go careful grinding mobs.. *rubs ass*.. Pitchforks come sharp'

'Lulu: What? I don't get it'

'Fang: That's because it was a bad joke'

'Titus: Sorry if your too blonde to understand it'

'Lulu: What's that supposed to mean?!'

'Me: titus now you've pissed lulu off. fang yeah sure why not'

'Titus: Lulu, I didn't mean it like that'

'Fang: Lets get going before all hell breaks loose, met you in the fields'

'Fang status change: Closed group chat'

'Me: If you've gone before we get back, I'll see you Thursday, if you're still here I'll see you later!'

'Lulu: Titus you bastard, wait till I find you!'

'Faris: See you later Freya'

'You have closed group chat – PTP'

Reading through the messages I couldn't help but giggle at times, we were always so close.. Yet so far away. After chatting with Lulu ages ago I found out that she was from the Faroe Islands.. If it wasn't for Elder Tale I'd never have met her.. Never known her..

"Hey Sweetheart, what are you doing all the way out here?" Comes a voice from my right, my head snapped over to where the voice was coming from.

"Lust! That's no way to speak to a lady!" Scolds another voice, this one from my right.

"Sorry Pride" Returns the first voice, my eyes still couldn't spot either of the owners to the voices.

"It isn't me you should be apologising to" Scolds the second voice, known as Pride, again.

"Allow me to apologise properly" Speaks _Lust_ as a body comes into view. "My name is Goat_Luxuria, you may call me Lust, Goat, Lux or by my full name.. Honestly I don't mind" Continues the figure as it slowly moves closer.

My grip went straight to Dragnipur as the light of the fire illuminated the figure, before me stood a very pale human, his short blue hair covered his left eye and his right was the same colour as his hair. The unnerving thing about the man's face was his smile, two very visible fangs were the first things to get me attention. A vampire.

Goat_Luxuria stopped a few steps away from me before extending his hand and bowing his head slightly. "May I apologise to you my dear, if my actions scared you I would like you to know that it was not my intent" I don't know why but I felt the need, no, it was more of an urge to place my hand in his own, from there the vampire proceeded by softly placing his lips on my hand.

"How rude of us.. We haven't properly introduced ourselves.. My friend, Lust and I are part of a guild known as the Seven Saints of Sin. My name is Lion_Superbia, or Pride for short, unlike Lust in front of you I would prefer to be called by my full name or my short-hand name." Speaks the second voice as another figure slowly moves towards the fire.

"The Seven Saints of Sin? I don't think I've ever heard of you" I state as the second figure's features become visible.

Next to Lust stood a woman her long violet hair hung loose and her piercing eyes glowed the same colour in the flickering firelight.

"I take it that there are seven of you?" I ask, my hand gripping the hilt of my great-sword tightly.

"Yes" Replies Lust, as he releases my hand.

"What are you doing out here?" I question further.

"I believe we asked you that question first" Counters Pride as she sits down. "What _are_ you doing out here? I take it you are not alone"

"No there are two more adventurers and a person of the land inside the tents" Answers the Vampire while sniffing the air.

"We are trying to take down this world quest before it gets too far out of hand" I add.

"No offence, but unless my eyes are lying to me.. You are only level 68? Aren't you?" Asks Pride turning to look at her companion.

"Yes she is, the other two are level 39 and 45" Answers Lust for me again.

"You are putting yourselves at risk here.. This quest is usually taken on by large sized guilds at your levels.. Why are you here?" Asks Pride looking at me.

"We are heading through on our way to Brigantia, if we go around this it would add nearly a week to our travelling time.. So instead we decided to try going though it, once the lizard lords dwindle down each other's forces we were going to take out the remaining lord while it was damaged from it's battle" I answer.

Pride turned to look at Lust again and the man gave a small nod. "She's telling the truth"

"So what are you doing here?"

"We are here to stop the lizardmen's advance in it's tracks.. The fire lizards wiped out the earth lizards and the metal lizards with their large numbers, however, the water lizards are giving them some trouble with their stronger warriors. The water lizards have taken out most of the poison lizards, but their lord is still alive, meaning that at least three lords are still active. The fire lizards have already begun mating with the females of both their defeated clans and their numbers are increasing quickly" Explains Pride while she fiddles with her menu.

"Yes, but the water lizards still have the advantage against the fire lizards thanks to their elemental weaknesses, the poison tribe are the most dangerous for us to go up against so we are planning on cutting down the fire tribe's numbers, giving the water tribe enough time to defeat the poison tribe.. Once the poison tribe have been dealt with we can let the water tribe wipe out what's left of the fire tribes warriors then we kill them and the fire lord while they battle" Continues Lust.

"Once the fire lord is dead and the water tribe send their warriors to mate with the other clans females we'll attack the water lord and then do a final sweep of all the camps to destroy any clutches we can find" Finishes Pride.

"Why are you telling me this?" I ask politely.

"We are trying to discourage you from going any further" States Pride as she stands up.

"Hmph, you don't even know who I am" I retort venomously.

"On the contrary, we know exactly who you are little miss paragon.. It's a shame you weren't logged onto your main account when everything happened.. You might have been able to have helped us.." Adds Lust a slight hint of sadness in his voice.

"Yes Lust, such a pity.. I'm sure you'll get over the loss of your idol.. Now we have work to do.. The others have already started.. See you around part timer" Waves Pride as she struts away, Lust disappearing behind her.

"Care to tell me what that was about?" Ask the familiar voice of a certain red haired elf.

"Reno? I can explain"

"Explain?.. No need.. I knew there was something mysterious about you, I had a feeling that you were hiding something.. I didn't think it was that you were a paragon.. I just thought you were a guy or something" Laughs the elf.

"Y-You're not mad?" I ask confused at how the man wasn't fuming at the fact that I'd lied.

"Why would I be mad.. Come on, with you putting in a good word for me there's no doubt that I'll get to join the paragons" Continues the elf as he yawns. "So we're not going to let those two have all the fun are we?"

"Heh.. Damn right we aren't" I confirm with a large grin on my face.

"I guess if you two are set on it then I'll continue to follow you" Adds Shadina as she steps out the tent.

"Me too!" Chirps Maria by the tall woman's side.

"So what's the plan?" Quizzes Reno while scratching his chin.

"We're going straight to the defeated clan's camps, once we are there we should be able to grid some levels killing the clutch-guards and matrons.. Then once they are wiped out we should be able to steal the treasures in each camp before those saintly sinners finish up with the lords"

"Freya.. Can I ask something?" Begins Shadina, after receiving a nod from me the woman continued. "They said something about your main account"

"Aye, I've got three alternate accounts.. All of which are level 90.."

"Why have so many accounts?" Asks Reno, his jaw hanging open.

"Well I wanted to try out different classes.. Races.. Genders.. Playstyles.. You know playing the same character all the time is boring especially once you've maxed out said character"

"Can't say that I've found that yet" Adds Shadina with a small laugh.

"Trust me.. It's really boring when you get to the max level.. Anyway I think that each new character is the next generation as they take the knowledge from the last and develop.. Like a child learns from their parents.. As for going over what they were like, I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to talk about the others once we are back on the road"

"Yeah.. Lead the way boss!" Exclaims Reno as he finishes packing the tent.

"First we head to the earth lizard camp" I state while resting Dragnipur on my shoulder as I begin walking into the forest, my companions.. No.. My friends, following close behind me.

 **Heyoo~ again everyone!**

 **So the silence is finally over, aye aye.. Sorry for the quietness!**

 ***Bangs drums***

 **!THIS LOUD ENOUGH!**

 **Well, we are at the end of another chapter.. So it's time to reply to some of my long awaiting reviews..**

 **Iios.. Hmm.. That's a little extreme for the time being.. However I might bank that idea for later use :3 Hehhehheh! Aye Reno's got a few powerful aces up his sleeve.. Just a shame that said powerful aces don't last very long due to them eating tremendous amounts of MP.. As for summoner hype.. Trust me I don't need to do anything to hype up the class.. I've had so many people apply for summoner that I've had to lock out the class, along with sorcerer.. Otherwise it'd just be a load of magicians prancing around the whole story (and in my head).**

 **Blinded in a bolthole.. I've messaged my reasons for my SYOC form's length, as well as explained the situation with how everything is moving forward so hastily. They were very good points you made and I hope my explanations clear everything up.. At the end of the day reviews like yours give me the opportunity to seriously look back and make sure I have everything working correctly.**

 **All criticism is appreciated as long as there are valid reasons/points :)**

 **Soooo~ My usual people are being rather quiet.. ShadeZyro, it's strange not hearing from you for two whole chapters.. Phantomtwriter you still reading?**

 **Reviews are like cookies dipped in warm chocolate milk, sprinkled in rainbow dust and smothered in deliciousness for writers.. Or is that just me.. Oh well..**

 **Reviews=Yummy=Happy Elly=More Chapters=Happy Readers=Even Happier Elly!=More Chapters=Reviews**

 **It's an unending cycle!.. Don't be breaking the life cycle of stories!**

 **As always,**

 **To all my lovely readers**

 **I wish you all the happiness in the world!**

 **Much Love,**

 **01L**


	10. Chapter 10

**Heya!.. Christmas time.. Woooooooooo!.. Or maybe not, shesh it's such an expensive time.. Presents for this person, presents for that person.. Gah! You all get chocolate!**

 **Aye aye, been really busy putting up trees, decorating, shopping.. (Oh how I hate shopping at Christmas)**

 **So I was thinking.. _Oh I haven't checked my e-mails in a while_ (Hellish, a week without checking e-mail is stupid.. I do know this is a fact).**

 **What did I find.. FanFiction this.. FanFiction that.. Good lord.. I feel like a bitch for not updating and not checking my e-mails..**

 **So I don't think I've done a shoutout for a little while..**

 **Before I do.. I have a small announcement.. Humans are going to be taken off the OC form, anyone who has already submitted a human is fine, however, I will not be accepting any more human OC's.. Thanks to a little prompt from a reader I counted out characters and we have 17 human OC's.. (including main characters) 12 of which are male.. Yes.. That means the boys are massively outnumbering the girls here!.. Come on girls! Get some OC's in here!**

 **Sooo.. *deep breath***

 **Firstly, thank you;**

 **Learnor, Hasegawa Ryuji, yuki no yue, TomorrowsHerald, Panther Hardraad, AnnaRee, Agent Epsilon 0010 and ab918 for following the story!**

 **Secondly, a thanks to;**

 **Grinning Wolf 24, Salimiome, Learnor (again), Hasegawa Ryuji (again), yuki no yue (again) and once more to Agent Epsilon 0010 for making the story one of your favourites.**

 **Thirdly, replies to reviews;**

 **Heyo~ Learnor, you are very welcome.. I'm glad I contributed to you day being better!.. As for being eager.. That's great, so am I.. As for Leonardo.. Oooo~ I dunno.. Nah, I'm joking, I'll pop him into my (massive) OC file, he'll be the last human OC. I will endeavour to keep the story going until the end!**

 **Hell Devil 13, uni-life? I understand.. Uni-life = (more or less) No-life.. I mean when you aren't getting drunk at all the parties, you're working your ass off for your degree.. xD Knowing that you took the time to write one make lil' me smile.. So you can say that you've done your good deed! I can't wait to get more written, but as I'm sure you can understand.. Life has it's ways of pulling you to one side a draining you of energy.**

 **Third Cosmic Velocity, I hereby absolve you of your crimes, as from this day forth you are forgiven!.. Don't worry, I've done that with whole chapters before.. Hit about 2.5k words then go.. _'Well that doesn't make sense.. Ugh, fuck.. Shit! Crap.. Get it off my screen.. Forget it ever existed!'_ Maybe I'm a little more over reactive than your good self. As for the two new characters.. They're a special group that'll be either a blessing or a curse for the players as a whole.. I haven't figured how I'm going to use them yet.. But they're an interesting bunch to say the least.. Ah it's such a small world!.. Oh dear.. I hope nobody thinks I ignore any of you.. **

**(On a side note.. If you think I have forgotten you.. Send me a message with a slap (not the face.. And if you go for my bottom.. Well you might get more of a reaction than you bargained for xD)**

 **As for Reno, he is owned by.. bored kid 48.. More characters will be introduced in the next city.. So should be the next chapter, the group might meet another on the road before the city but we'll have to see how the story writes itself.**

 **Hasegawa Ryuji thank you, I shall add Nara to the ever growing list of OC's.**

 **Rundl322.. *cough* PM! *cough*..**

 **hopelessromantic34 aye I'm glad I was back too.. And here's that chapter you couldn't wait for! :3**

 **Phantomtwriter good good, it's nice to know you took the time to catch up on the story and I'm always grateful for your comments :D.. Even if it's only a little message it's the thought that counts!**

 **Phew, I think this is one of the longest pre-notes I've ever done.. Nearly two pages long.. Madness!**

 **Madness? No.. This. Is. Ulster!**

 _ **Ahem.**_

 **Shall we continue?**

I let a small huff escape as I dislodge Dragnipur from another, recently felled lizardman.

"How many more are there?" Whines Reno as he waves his hand in the air, in the single motion his summon acknowledged the command and returned to his side.

"You are getting better at controlling your magic" Praises Shadina as she wipes her brow, pushing aside a rogue strand of her long blue hair.

"Aye.. And you are getting much better at knowing what spell to use on what" I add as the woman waves off my comment with a small smile.

"You are ever the pillar of strength mistress" Chirps Maria as she sheaths her hammer, after using it, much to my surprise, to clobber the smaller hatchlings that were stupid enough to cross the small girls path.

"Ha.. You can't talk kid, you're kinda scary with that hammer" Chuckles the red haired elf as he places an ear to one of the trees, activating one of his pathfinder skills. "There's another group of them up ahead.. Feels like they're all surrounding something.." Adds Reno as he takes a quick glance at his stats.

"Then we keep going" I state as we continue along our path. "Reno's right, where did you learn to fight like that Maria?" I ask, genuinely intrigued.

"Well I watched how you fight.. And put what I learned into practice.. But I'm not really _scary_ am I?" Answers the small girl with another question.

"No of course not.. Keep up the good work" I state while ruffling the girl's hair as we walk deeper into the earth lizard base.

"Up ahead" Warns the elf as we near a clearing.

"Oooo~.. I see a treasure chest!" I yell as I charge towards the lizards, Dragnipur already raised above my head, ready to be brought down on my first target.

Even with my loud outburst, my blade still came as a shock for the first lizard as Dragnipur calved into the monster's shoulder, very nearly lopping off the whole arm.

The monster let out a hiss, before I pulled my greatsword free and sent it plummeting through the lizard another two times. After my final swing the lizard fell to the ground, while the rest of the mob were already charging towards me. The first one to reach me was met with the end of my blade that it unintentionally ran straight into, I found this slightly amusing and let out a short, dark laugh.

My laugh was cut even shorter when the feeling of pain rushed through me, the lizard impaled on my blade slowed my swing speed drastically, so much so that one, two, three.. Five.. Eight.. Eleven.. Fourteen.. The onslaught of slashing claws struck me again and again..

"Enough!" I roared out as I kicked the skewered lizard off my blade with enough force to break the dead monsters back as it hit a nearby boulder.

The lizards all took a small step back before they all hissed as the charged towards me, another jumping onto my blade and sacrificing itself so the rest could land easy hits.

"Cleaver buggers aren't they?" I half question, half state while releasing Dragnipur and pulling out two of my lovely new throwing axes, for someone who had been using both her hands to swing a weapon, you'd think wielding one in each hand would be easy.. No.. Quickly learning my lesson I sent one of the axes hurtling through the air, the projectile didn't stop until it sent a lizard straight to the floor.

Now wielding a single axe I found the problem with one handed weapons.. Reach.. Although faster, the reach on each swing was tiny.. The damage.. What would take my two-handed sword a few strikes took the smaller one-handed axe strike after strike after strike, to bring down a single lizard.

The dawn out battle quickly became a painful nuisance as more and more cuts appeared on me. To my right Reno was battling a small group of stragglers with a couple of summons and the help of Maria. To my left Shadina looked to be in trouble, now resorting to her animals more than her magic.

"Maria, Reno.. Shadina needs a hand!" I shout before letting out another roar and headbutting the lizard stuck on my axe. Pulling the throwing weapon free I sent it flying into one of Shadina's attackers.

Pulling out another axe I managed to throw it before another lizard engaged me. Caught without a weapon the lizard pressed it's advantage and lashed out at me with it's claws. Narrowly avoiding a lash to my face I dodged, the claws instead caught my shoulder, shattering the steel plate armour and leaving my whole left arm exposed. Quickly rolling forward and pulling one of my axes from a nearby corpse I leapt back into the fight, barring my teeth through the pain as more and more claws caught my weakened armour.. The other arm guard quickly followed it's twin and shattered under the constant attacks from claw and fang, leaving both my arms exposed, and another set of sigils.

Feeling the warmth of my, usually hidden and inactive, sigils a smile graced my lips as a sudden rush of power coursed through me, the immense power trailed down my arms and formed in the palm of my hands.

Thirty.

Grasping the soul blade I began a dance, swinging the blade through lizard after lizard like they were as thin as paper.

Twenty-two.

Charging towards another lizard I twisted around the monster's attempt at an attack, getting around to the lizard's back, I plunged the blade into the creature a pulled it out quickly moving on to the next.

Sixteen.

Another lizard fell as it's head hit the ground moments before it's body.

Eleven.

Jumping and twisting around mid-air I landed between Shadina and a deadly strike aimed at her back from a crafty lizard that instead met my blade plunging into it's chest.

Six.

Turning to face another I quickly slashed across it's body, vaulting over the falling lizard and pushing my blade into the last one on Shadina's side.

Zero.

After my countdown was finishing my blade became unstable and quickly drained my MP while sending shocks throughout my body, the pain was on a whole different level to the wounds inflicted from the lizards, it was like every cell in my body was statically charged and suddenly began discharging.. I fell to the ground screaming as the pain intensified, my MP dropping past 50%.. Tears formed in my eyes as I grit my teeth, only to let out another scream as the pain flared again, forcing my eyes closed and releasing the tears..

Crying.. Pain..

I was actually crying.. Pain.

The tears were flowing freely as I screamed out once again, clutching at my head.. Pain.

Make it stop!.. Pain.

It hurts!.. Pain.

Please!.. Pain.

Stop!.. Pain.

Please! Stop!.. Pain.

It! Hurts!.. Pain.

It didn't stop.. Pain.

I knew it wouldn't stop.. Pain.

It was the price to pay.. Pain.. Pain.

How many times have I used it?.. Pain.. Pain.. Pain.

Did she feel it every time?.. Pain.. Pain.. Pain.. Pain.. Pain..

"RAGHHHHHH! AHHHHHHHHH!" I scream as my nails dig into my scalp, drawing blood.

 **I know, I know.. It's a super short chapter.. I just wanted to leave it at that to add a little suspense.. Hence why it's taken me so long to post.. I was trying to add to it but everything I wrote made the whole scene kinda crappy.. The follow up will be up in a few minutes.. What?.. You think just 'cause I didn't write it here that I didn't write it at all?.. No, no.. I didn't want to post till I had (I guess you could call it) the second part.**

 **Again thanks to everyone who has commented/messaged/followed/favourited/reviewed/been awesome!**

 **You're all amazing!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Heya!**

 **Well I got nothing to mention, other than.. YOU ARE AMAZING! Yes you!.. My dear reader.. You are absolutely perfect!**

 **Much love to all of you great guys and gals out there!**

The pain was excruciating, however, with my MP dropping to zero the blade had nothing to power it. The lack of power made the weapon dissolve into nothingness, my sigils returned to their inactive state and faded to match my skin colour.

Even though the pain was finally over, my body shook as it recovered from both the pain and MP deficiency.

I lay on the ground sobbing to myself as I slowly regained my strength.

How pathetic I must look, the great warrior.. A crying mess on the ground..

As my ears slowly began to adjust back to the sounds of the world, I could hear Reno telling the other two to stay back, I could hear Maria's pleas to be released so she could get to me, presumably being held back by the elf himself. I could hear Shadina asking if he thinks I'll be alright..

"Yeah, she's the strongest person I've ever met.. There's no way this will keep her down for very long, don't worry.. She'll be fine" Although he put on a reassuring speech, even in my state I could tell that he didn't really believe what he was saying.

Finally able to open my eyes, the light of the world blinded me with it's sharp brightness making me squint.

Slowly I moved my hands from my head, my nails covered in dried blood.. How long had I been like it?..

With the horrible sensation of pins and needles all over my boy, I carefully moved into a sitting position.. As soon as I had started to move the others fell silent.. While sat upright I pulled a hand to my face and wiped my eyes.. Right now they were probably puffy, swollen and horribly bloodshot..

"F.. Freya?" Whispers Reno as he moves closer. "A-are you okay?"

"Y-.. Yeah.." I reply weakly before adding. "You all okay?"

"Yeah we are fine, you idiot!.. You're the one that sounded like you were dying.. God damn it Freya.. You scared the crap out of m.. Us!" Scolds the elf as he offers his hand.

"Here, let me help" States Shadina as she offers me her hand aswell.

"Mistress.. Here is your sword.. Your axes were to damaged to be of any use to you.. Sorry.. They weren't good enough" Adds Maria, mumbling the last part under her breath.

"Thank you.. All of you.." I mumble weakly as I take both pairs of arms, hoisted to my feet, where both wrap my arms around their shoulders to help me walk.

"We left the treasure chest for you to open" Mentions Reno as he guides me towards the chest.

Once close enough I slowly press my hand on the cold metal of the chest and the contents menu pops up.

"[Summoner's Ire] – A ring that boosts summoning speed if a summon has died within 5 seconds of beginning a new summoning." I read out as I send the item to Reno, before continuing onto the next item. "[Magic Orb] – A secondary weapon that acts as a catalyst for spells, the orb must be set to a certain spell before it will increases the spells effectiveness by 50%, setting a spell takes 5x the cast time and can only be done outside of battle."

The look of shock on Shadina's face when she received the item was priceless, and she was quick to try and give it back.. I quickly cut her off before she could even say anything. "And what would I do with it?.. Nothing.. So it's yours" The woman accepted defeat and remained quiet while examining the item.

The next item was interesting as chests like this one usually gave a good or uncommon item for each member of the party.

"[Micro-Mallet] – A shortened version of a traditional battlehammer that has a 10% chance to crush a random piece of armour" .. .. ..

"But mistress! I could never accept such a gift!" Exclaims Maria as I hold the weapon towards her.

After receiving a glare from both me and Shadina, Maria had no choice but to accept the weapon, which she had no problems with putting it on straight away.

"What did you get?" Asks a curious elf.

"Nothing.. Just some gold" I answer truthfully. "I'd only get something if this was my first time here.. Halfway chests are for new participants, you have the occasional group the take the items for themselves to sell on the market but most people just wait for a boss chest" I add while putting the small bag of gold into my bag.

"So what now?" Questions Reno as he fiddles with his new ring.

"Well we keep on heading into the camp.. Steal the boss chest and someone gets a high quality item.." I start only to be interrupted

"Woah.. I don't think so.. You're in no fit state to be fighting and I don't think us three have the ability to beat everything from here on out.. No.. I say we head straight through and get to Carvetia as fast as we can" Voices Reno as he crosses his arms.

"I think Reno is right.. We should leave the chests.. That guild have the quest covered anyway, I don't think it's right to take their rewards from them.. Not after they worked so hard to get them" Agrees Shadina.

"I think that is the best idea mistress, you can hardly walk, let alone fight, there is always another chance to find rare items" Comments Maria with a smile.

"Okay okay.. Fine.. We go straight to Carvetia.. We get some food, something to drink, some sleep and some potions.. Then we are out of there and on our way to Brigantia, it's only a short trip from Carvetia to Brigantia" I reluctantly agree as we slowly follow a path that leads west and towards the city.

After leaving behind the lizard's forests, we found ourselves walking along a trade road. The land opened up into large open fields with hardly any obstructions to vision, apart from the hills themselves.

"Where did this road come from?" Asks Shadina.

"It's the great link.. A huge trade road that goes through every major city in Ulster" Informs Maria.

"So why didn't we follow it?" Inquires Reno.

"Because the route goes around any obstacle, like the lizard forests.. It would've added another three or four days onto our journey" I reply, receiving a nod from Maria.

"That's right" Agrees the girl.

"We'd best keep going" I state while walking on my own, Reno still stood by me ready to support me if I was to stumble. "We should be in the city by tomorrow afternoon" I add as our group follow the road.

 **Hello again.. Yeah so Freya hasn't died.. Phew.. I was playing with the idea of her dying and having to start all over again.. But I'm glad I didn't otherwise I'd just be re-writing what I've already written.**

 **Well I hope to hear from you all soon.. And I'll try to get another chapter out shortly.. The next one should be pretty long as we are likely to get to the next city.**

 **Much love**

 **El**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hello everyone!**

 **Long time no see.. Yeah.. So.. Y'miss me?**

 **Been kinda absent for a month or two.. Sorry about that.. Been kinda poor since some bastard in a red and white outfit stole all my money.**

 **My stories have kinda taken a back seat for a bit, but I'm going to try and get some time to do some writing.. Even if it has to be after I get back in from work (like now)..**

 **So before we start I'd like to do the usual and reply/welcome.**

 **So, thank you to:**

 **Touhoufanatic – For favourite and following the story!**

 **Thatmimegirl – For following the story!**

 **Replies:**

 **Well, Grinning Wolf 24 it's good to hear you caught up! Yeah you might notice a few similarities at the moment, however, that should fizzle out as we get more and more into the story. As for my word processor, I use OpenOffice (OO).. No, no I don't mind, half the time it's me being too sleepy to notice.. It's good to hear you are enjoying it, even with your grammar nazi nagging in your ear! :P**

 **TCV – Yeah, there's over-reactive.. Then there's me.. On a whole different level :D. Only some of them will have the chance to travel with her, but she will meet each of them time and time again, so there is the possibility for all of them to spend some screen time with our main character.**

 **Guest (with Akida Scarlet/ Akiba Inazuma) – I'm afraid that Sorcerer class was maxed out quite some time ago. You can still send me another character, or just give Akid(b)a a quick class change. It was a very interesting idea, however, a mage has very low physical defence so one hit could, as you said, be very problematic.**

 **Guest (7 Jan) – Thank you! Aye, I'll try to get back into the rhythm of updating.. And try not to leave you guys hanging for 2 and a bit months like this time, I know I'm such a horrible person.**

 **Touhoufanatic – I'm glad that you've found an interest in the story, as classes/races/guilds become full I will update the SYOC form on both my profile and on the very first chapter of the story, that way classes and races don't become overly used. I hate having twenty of the same build characters as, in my opinion, it becomes boring very quickly, from both my (the writers) and from the readers POV's. The characters are so well built thanks to the effort that each one of my submitters have put into their OC's, I only bring them to life, so if I deserve praise then so do they :3.**

 **If it wasn't for all you lovely guys and gals out there reading my story I'd have given up a long time ago! So thank you! All of you! Weather you're a silent reader, an OC submitter, a 'full-time' reviewer, a 'part-time' reviewer, a follower, a favourite-er?, or someone who's just started reading the story (well done for getting here in one sitting, colour me impressed). Each and everyone of you are a lifeline to this story.. And so, for that I give all of you my deepest thanks.**

 **Anyhoo~ Let's get on with the show eh?**

"Open the gates!" Comes a muffled order from one of the watchmen standing guard atop the huge wooden gates of the city.

"So you were once BloodRedRowz" Asks Reno for the millionth time, shock and disbelief were both still evident in his voice.

"Reno.. Hasn't she answered that question enough?" Sighs Shadina, clearly close to the end of her patience with the elf.

"But that means she.."

"Yes, I helped build The House of Blood into one of the best player killer guilds on the server, arguably, one of the best in the game. Yes, I knew what I was doing. No, I didn't ever imagine that the game would become real.. That's why I was comfortable building such a guild, I was angry and I wanted someone else to feel how I always felt for a change.. I know that's a horrible thing to do but it was just a game back then.." I interrupt, feeling my voice catch in my throat a couple of times, after a moment I continue. "We've all done things we regret, if you ask a guy.. It's usually the things he didn't do.. If you ask a girl.. It's the things she did do.."

"We are all allowed to make mistakes, after all we're just human right?" Reassures Shadina, this made Reno chuckle to himself.

"What's funny?" I ask, slightly confused.

"Well for starters, the fact that you built a scary as hell PK guild is well, kinda, really scary.. Secondly.." Chuckles the elf. "We're not all human.. I'm an.. Elf!.." At this Reno's chuckling became full blown laughter.

The three of us joined in with the elf's laughing as we walked through the gates and into the city.

Reno's laughter stopped as he looked at the city.. "Guys.. Why is it so quiet?"

"I don't like the feel of this" Adds Maria.

"It is very quiet" Agrees Shadina, getting an affirmative grumble from myself as we walk the empty streets.

"Someone's coming" States Reno in a hushed tone, just as we all reach for our weapons a dwarf runs past us.

"Goddamnit! Goddamnit! Goddamnit!" Yells the angered dwarf as he continues running towards a huge looking building near the centre of the city.

"Excuse me!" I yell catching the man's attention. "Where is everyone?!"

"Watching the battle!" Replies the dwarf. "Old Man Steelside challenge The Legate to one on one combat! Everyone's watching, even The Valkyrie came down from her sanctuary to watch them battle it out!" Shouts the dwarf as we all run to catch up to him.

"Why aren't you there?" Asks Shadina.

"Heh.. I sort of overslept.. Everyone thought it'd be funny to not wake me and go ahead anyway" Answers the short, rotund man.

"And they.. Just left you?.. What.. Horrible company you.. Must keep" Huffs Maria as she tries to keep up with everyone.

"Ah, they ain't all half bad, just like to play their tricks is all" Replies the dwarf with a fond smile. "We're close!.. So who you guys bet on winning?"

"Bet?" I repeat.

"Yeah, everyone's put a bet on one or the other winning.. It is the arena after all"

"An arena?.. Since when has Carvetia had an arena?" I question to nobody in particular, the dwarf however quickly replied.

"It was finished two days ago after The Legate accepted the Old Man's challenge a few weeks back.. Back when we all got stuck here.. Here we are!.. If you're looking for a good blacksmith in town, pop into my shop. It's the only blacksmith in the eastern side of town so you can't miss it.. Big plume of black smoke!" And with that the dwarf ran into the large building, which close up looked more like an old roman Colosseum, than the usual city arenas.

"So should we go in and have a look?" Asks Reno peeking through the passageway leading to the spectator stands. "Well?"

"Entry is two thousand gold.. Each" Grumbles a man from down the passage as he walks up to our group, his eyes quickly looked over Reno and Maria, but lingered on me and Shadina.

I could feel Shadina cringe slightly as the overly-muscular man licked his lips.

"Hmm, like what you see.. Huh, big boy?" I purr while slowly moving towards him, swaying my hips in the process. I could clearly see the legion insignia on the hilt of his sword, spotting part of a centurion tattoo peeking out from his cuirass, a grin pulled at my lips. I could feel not just his eyes on me, but I couldn't help but feel the gazes of Reno and Shadina.

"As a matter of fact.. I do" Replies the veteran soldier easily, I, however, pick up a small hint of hesitation.

Closing the distance between me and the soldier I let my hands graze his exposed arms while pressing myself against him. Slowly I stretched my body and rose to my tiptoes, placing my lips to the man's ear and whispering. "Friends of Legatus Legionis Alexandria" The mention of the name made the man stiffen.

"Sorry to have caused you any trouble" Exclaims the soldier as he steps to the side.

"Come on guys" I chime while stepping into the passageway.. A couple of steps and I noticed that only Maria had moved.. "Reno.. Keep staring at my ass.. See what happens.. Shadina.. Feel free to keep staring" I purr, snapping both from their daydreaming.

"I.. You.. Huh?" Came both their voices, making me giggle.

"Come on or we'll miss the fight!"

"Coming" Replies Shadina, a slight blush on her face. Reno didn't reply and just followed Shadina as she stepped around the large soldier.

Once we found a space to stand a watch, the fight quickly became boring, for me at least. The two guild masters were both equally matched, both in skill and in wit. Each strike was met with a perfect parry or a dodge, before long, well within the first few moments, it became obvious, to me at least, that this was in fact going to be a battle of endurance rather than power. One of the worst kinds of battles, in my opinion of course.

With the sounds of steel clashing against steel filling my ears I let my other senses wonder, I lazily gazed over the crowds looking for anyone that stood out. It wasn't hard to spot the ArchAngels, or their guild leader, all of which were wearing their usual custom-crafted armour, making each one of the players look like golden clad warriors from the heavens.

The Valkyrie sat with two of her generals either side of her and an entourage of about twenty or so regulars.

To the right of the ArchAngels stood a large group of soldiers wearing easily identified legion armour. On the left stood another large company of soldiers, their banners screaming out their allegiance to the Army. All three major groups watched as the fight continued on.

Before I knew it a loud bell rang out, signaling the end of the time allowance, the results quickly followed.. Suprise suprise, the conclusion was indecisive, stating that the battle ended in a draw. The crowd voiced their obvious anger at the lack of a winner, mostly due to nearly everyone loosing their money, there were also a couple of cries of joy, probably the ones that tried their luck betting on the large payout of a draw.

The two men shook hands and walked away from each other.

"Why is it that you don't look surprised at the outcome?" Comes a heavily accented, if not slightly familiar voice, making the hairs at the back of my neck stand to attention.

Without turning around to face the voice I replied, my own voice was raspy as if it was caught on something. "It was clear to me from the start, that neither would win"

"Interesting, how did you come to that conclusion?" Continued the voice, I could feel goosebumps slowly begin to crawl up down my arms, deep down I wished nothing more than to be away from this voice. "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" The voice slowly came closer, the sound of it's owners steps getting louder. The voice was nothing more than a whisper now as the person spoke once more, warm breath licking at my ear. "Be careful, little bird"


	13. Chapter 13

**Hiya!**

 **And how are you? Good?.. NO!.. You should be great! Because your a lovely person! Well, at least I think you are! :3**

 **Okay so, replies/shoutouts**

 **Touhoufanatic – Wow you commented pretty snappy.. Yeah Freya has darkness behind her, but remember what she said about her alternate accounts. As for ?, I don't even know, ? just wrote themselves in.. I had no control over ?.. He?.. I don't even know if it's a he or a she.. Or how they can make Freya scared.. Or do I? We'll have to wait and see :3  
Hope this helps keep you warm.. Freya's back to her usual self.**

 **Grinning Wolf 24 – Aye aye, I'm back.. And back again with another update.. I know right, Shock horror! Aye aye, I would love it if life would give me a break to enjoy things.. This Drosselmeyer fellow does look creepy.. Just times him by five or six.. And we'll have what I'm looking for.. Creepy's purest form!**

 **Rundl322 – Yeah, however, on sunny days they all wear sunglasses.. And a spare pair is always carried on them at all times.. It's standard procedure for all of the guild to at least carry one pair xD  
Although you've spoiled my fun, I was thinking of doing little side stories, y'know like the ones they do at the end of an episode of anime.. Just so I can play around.. Maybe.. I'll see what everyone thinks about it.**

 **Well that's all for replies, I wonder where my old reviewers are hiding?.. You guys all still alive right?**

 **Let's continue!**

Be..

..Careful..

..Little..

..Bird

Those words repeated over and over, the accented voice hammered against my nerves like a blacksmith on his anvil.

"-eya.. Frey-.. -reya.." Came the echo of a voice.

I didn't even notice Reno stood in front of me, his hands gripping my shoulders tightly while he put all his strength into shaking me. By the time I came to he was, practically, yelling my name.

"Are you okay mistress?" Chirps Maria in her child-like tone.

"Aye, I.. I'm fine" I reply dryly.

"You did that thing again" Adds the small girl at my side.

"Mmm.. Sorry about that" I smile while absent-mindedly rubbing away the persistent goosebumps on my arms.

"So who was that person?" Questions Shadina.

"Just.. Nobody"

"One of the people that will likely end up trying to kill us then?" Contributes Reno with a small laugh.

"Something like that" I mumble while slapping the elf on the back of the head.

"It's okay, she's back to normal" Smiles the redhead wincing slightly.

"Let's go to the market and get some supplies" I state while walking towards the exit.

"Leaving so soon? You could wait until after my fight at least, having fair maidens such as yourselves watching me, how could I ever loose?" Come the voice of a soldier within hearing distance.

Turning to decline the man's offer a blast of heat hits my face.

"Now now, there's no need to blush ladies" Adds the soldier as he smiles.

"I agree, there is no need to blush.. Oi! Sorcerer! Quit with the fire orb spell before I slice your staff in half and I'm not talking about the one in your hands!" I growl. "Now I remember why I hate these people" I sigh before continuing, my tongue aimed at the soldier this time. "Now that that damned fire orb is gone.. You!" I shout pointing at the soldier.

The man stood somewhat in shock as I stomped towards him.

I guess he's never had a _'fair maiden'_ stand up to him before.

"What's with this fucking damsel in distress and fair maiden horse crap?! _And god damned trees_! Why is it that nearly every man I've met so far is a womanising piece of crap?.. No, I'm sorry that's insulting.. To all the crap in the world!.." By this point I was stood in the soldiers face, my lips contorting into a large bloodlusting grin. "Go on.. Call me a **fair maiden** now" I poke the man's chest-plate while adding emphasis on the fair maiden.

"How dare you touch a Tribune!" Comes the howl of the female sorcerer while she glares at me.

"Oh shut ya little fan girl mouth! My quarrel ain't with you, you'd be wise to keep it that way" I spit at the woman.

"Is it me or does she seem really pissed to you guys?" Asks Reno quietly.

"Just a little bit" Agrees Shadina.

"I guess she doesn't like being called a maiden.. She seems fine with mistress though" Chirps Maria, gaining a pat on the head from Reno.

"I think only you get the honour of calling her mistress Maria" Adds the elf as they continue to watch me yelling obscurities at the soldier.

"What is going on here?!" Booms a loud female voice. "Freya!.. For the love of cheese on toast! How are you? I mean you look stunning as always, but, yeah.. I mean.. Ahem, Tribune.. Umm.. Sorry.. I forgot your name?"

"Legion Legate Alexandria!" Come the startled voice of the man.

"No no, you idiot.. That's my name. I didn't forget my name, what do you take me for? A stupid person who forgets my own damn name! NO! I asked for your name! Because I forget the names of those that prove to be of no use to me!" Verbally assaulted the female Legate as she rubbed her temples.

"Of course, my apologies, Junior Tribune GrandRay"

"Get out of my sight Centurion GrandRay. And GrandRay, don't cross me again or you'll see yourself as a Legionary again" Adds the powerful woman while messing with her menu.

"Of course" Replies the newly demoted Centurion as he leaves, his fan girl, visibly not quiet as interested in him any more.

"Legion Legate, should we leave you to conduct your business?" Asks one of the four soldiers wearing black armour, showing them to be members of the Praetorian Guards.

"Yes, I'll send one of you a message if I need anything" Answers the woman.

The four black clad warriors bow slightly before leaving.

"So Freya how're ya?" Asks Alexandria as she skips down the steps towards me, landing a few steps off before jumping and engulfing me in a huge hug.

"Alex.. Could you stop squeezing my backside?" I sigh. "You're like a cross between Faris and Refia"

"Aww, and here I was thinking I was better than both of them, I mean Refia can't get within five feet of you without passing out or getting so hot under the collar that she looks like she's about to explode.. And Faris.. Well I guess he's nearly as pervy as me.. He could be like a student of mine or something.. Oh I could be like a perverse jedi.. Do you think that's why Yoda chose to be so small? So he could see up all the future girl's skirts?" Rambles the girl as she breaks the hug and thinks about her million and one questions.

"It's good to see you haven't changed at all Alex" I begin before turning and waving the others over.

"Ooo, are these new friends of yours?" Asks the excitable girl, while she stares at Reno and pulls me to the side to talk in a hushed tone. "Freya.. Is your elf single?.."

"What? How am I supposed to know?"

"Well you've been travelling with them, surely you've talked"

"Yeah but I mean we've not dived into each others personal business"

"Awww, but that stuff is the most interesting"

"I guess I've been so focused on getting to the others that I haven't really got to know them apart from how they fight and a little bit about who they are.. Wait, how do you know we've been travelling together?"

"Could you ask him?" Questions the Legate avoiding the question.

"Why the interest?" I sigh, half-knowing the answer.

"Because, well just look at him.. he's so pretty.. If he is single.. Could I have him?"

"Reno! Alex here wants to take you to her bedroom, that okay with you?" I shout loud enough for all three of them to hear.

"What the hell Freya! I, um.. Did.. I didn't say I wanted to take him to my bedro-.. Wait.. No that would be perfect! Yes.. Renoh?"

"Reno" I correct.

"Sorry, Reno.. Fancy some fun?"

"I.. Ah.." Stumbles Reno as his face turns red.

"Coo~me oo~n" Purrs Alex as she squeezes her chest together while biting her bottom lip and waving her backside from side to side.

To the actions playing out before him Reno's face turned five shades darker.

"Surely you're going to stay for at least one night.." Begins Alex as she saunters towards Reno, her intent crashing down on the poor elf. ".. I'm offering you a very comfortable bed.." Continues the woman in a thick, musky voice laced with lust. ".. With even more comfortable company" Finishes Alex as she leans against Reno, her hands stroking his chest while her breath nips at his neck.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the little seductress in action.

"What's going on?" Asks Maria, voicing Shadina's unasked question.

"Well this is Alex, she is either the sister or is an alternate account of a player called Alixzander. I've never managed to work out which one it was, as they've been know to be online at the same time every now and then. It takes a lot of concentration to play one game of Elder Tale so two would be impossible in most cases, but hell.. Being sucked into a game.. That would have been considered impossible too" I reply while rubbing the small girls head, messing up her hair slightly.

"So is she offering all of us a bed or just _her pretty elf_?" Asks Shadina with a hint of jealousy.

"Hmm, knowing Alex, the offer is just for Reno.. By this point she's probably forgotten I'm even here" I chuckle. "She's not the most focused person off the battlefield"

"She's allowed on the battlefield?" Comes the slightly surprised response of the blue haired sorcerer.

"Yeah, she's quite a deadly opponent to face, full of all kinds of dirty tricks.. But that's a bard for you I guess"

"Reno.. We're going to the market.. You need anything?" I shout over Alex's persistent mumblings.

"Yes.. I need some items!.." Comes the broken voice of the elf as he struggles against the, somewhat horny, Legate.

"Aww but you should stay with me.. At least let me come with you to the market.. We could hold hands and kiss in one of the side alleys, then once you finish shopping you can come with me.. Don't let Freya take you away from me" Half-purr, half-pines Alex.

"I guess she hasn't forgotten about m-"

"Legion Legate!" Shouts a man at the exit of the arena, the seriousness in his tone made Alex snap to attention.

"Report!" Orders the Legate.

"A cohort has been attacked outside the city!.. They returned only a few moments ago!"

"What cohort?!"

"It was the third cohort my Legate, the second are already re-stationing themselves to where the third were"

"Idiots, order them to return! Unless they face the same fate as the third! I will go, send a message to the senior Tribune of the first and have him organise my men!"

"Of course my Legate"

"I guess my duty must pull me away from my desire, I would still like you to sleep well tonight, if you wish to take up my offer all you need to do is ask anyone of the legion soldiers, speak my name and they will contact me" Alex then lent in and kissed Reno's cheek before rushing off after the soldier.

"So Reno.. I bet you want to blow off some steam.. Or you'll want an ice cold bath or something.." I smirk before adding in an sultry tone. "We could run you a bath"

Shadina joined in the teasing as we both pouted our lips and struck a saucy pose before bursting out in fits of laughter.

Reno's face remained red until we got to the market where he shopped for a few MP potions and looked to sell his share of the loot, after kindly allowing Maria to look through it for anything of crafting use, gaining a comment from a group of rough looking men as they walked past.

"Yes he really is a gentleman, and that's how he managed to get us lovely girls following him" I bite back at the random player, while putting an arm around Reno just to add dramatical effect.

The man walked off in a huff, and we all returned to our own trading, Reno regaining some of his red-face-ness.

My attention was caught on a small shop with a blacksmith sign above it.

"With everything that's gone on I haven't had any of my equipment repaired.. No wonder my armour started shattering.." I mumble to myself as I walk to the shop keeper.

"What can I do for you ma'am?"

"Could you take a look at my armour and sword" I ask while slowly placing my gear on the table, before I'd placed everything down the man spoke out.

"You honour me by giving me a chance to hold such items but I'm sorry this weapon and armour is well out of my league to repair, I'm afraid you'll need a master blacksmith" States the 'best blacksmith of the market district'.

Just as I'm about to retort I notice the man is a simple person of the land, taking a deep breath, I smile at the smith. "Thank you for at least looking, it takes a lot for a man to admit he isn't skilled enough to complete a task.. I'm glad instead of just trying you told me of your predicament.. Here this is for your honesty" I state as I pass the man a small bag of gold.

"But-" Began the shop keeper before being cut off by Maria, who suddenly appeared beside me.

"I'd just accept the gold sir, my mistress isn't one to take back a gift" The small girl added _"Trust me"_ with a whisper, before turning and smiling at me innocently.

"Didn't that dwarf from before say something about being a blacksmith?" Reminds the girl. "Could you see if he could fix Dragnipur and your armour?"

"Good thinking Maria, I guess there's nothing wrong with asking"

"Well I'm done, fully stocked on potions and managed to get rid of all my loot for a pretty nice sum" States Reno as he walks over rolling his shoulder. "I should be able to jump around better now.." Adds the elf as his slender frame leaps over a half wall, then up the side of a shop to sit on the roof. "Ahh, I've missed the view of the world from higher up, looks like Shadina is finished too.. Shadina! Up here!" Shouts the elf as he slides off the roof landing next to me effortlessly.

"Here you are, I thought I was going to get lost.. This is the first time we've all been separated.. It was strange not feeling you guys next to me" Speaks the sorcerer.

Sensing the perfect chance to tease I couldn't help myself and before I knew it my mouth was moving. "Strange to not have _your pretty elf_ next to you? Or was it my backside that you were missing?"

Shadina's face gained a hint of blush as she turned to the side to try and hide it under her hair, Reno let out a cough as he chocked on a bite of bread, which left me and Maria to giggle to ourselves.

As Reno regained his composure, that or managed to swallow the cracker tasting bread, and spoke first. "So we heading to that dwarfs place?"

"Oh, you'd rather sleep with a dwarf that the _lovely_ Legate?" I chime. "I'm sure Shadina wouldn't mind keeping you company instead" I add, turning to look at the woman in question try to put words together. "See she's speechless at the thought"

"Th-That's n-not it" Stammers the taller woman. "I.. Just didn't like her taking advantage of him"

While she was struggling with her words I walked towards her and smiled, before whispering. "I'm sure he likes you.. I've seen how he looks at you when he thinks nobody is looking"

"But.. He looks at you too.." Counters the woman quietly.

"That's just a guy being a guy.. He looks at you completely differently.."

"I.."

"You like him" I whisper softly. "That's why it felt like your insides were being tied in a knot when Alex was all over him"

"But what if he likes that kind of person? She's already said that she wants him? Doesn't that mean anything?" Questions Shadina, each question striking down her hope.

"I think Reno liked it.. But again.. He's a _guy_.. You can't blame him, but if you want him, I'm sure you can get him.. As for Alex, she wants people for a night, I think Reno saw that in her and I don't think he liked it"

"I can hear my name being spoken a lot.." Grumbles the elf sat on a nearby wall.

"Aye, we're just talking about how we are going to get you to you Legate Alex tonight" This struck so much fear into the elf that he nearly fell off the wall.

"Y-You guys wouldn't do that would you?.. Anyway.. I thought you only wanted to be here for as long as necessary?"

"Hmm, that's true.." I agree.

"Let's just go to the blacksmith, get a bed for the night.. Then leave in the morning.. Just like the plan"

"Fine fine, so what are we waiting for? Let's go"

 **See y'all soon!**

 **Hope you liked the chapter!**

 **Remember Reviews are like cookies!**

 **Much Love!**

 **!(and over use of exclamation marks)!**

 **El!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hello hello hello!**

 **Aye this could take awhile.. Responses, replies, chats and what-not-else.**

 **Ahem!**

 **Touhoufanatic: Woo for updates.. Boo for breakdowns!**

 **Yeah because Freya has a history with the guild she knows better than to offer her help as we'll see shortly. Aye a dwarf blacksmith.. Originality, I know right xD but as for upgrades who knows? Maybe one or two pieces of new gear is needed. Now I back I look forward to you looking forward to even more!**

 **TheDeceivingMagus: Who is which sorcerer?.. It's okay, I'm sorry to everyone that I've not been able to write any chapters in a while. I feel honoured that you take the time to review to mine!**

 **Aye I have plans for Will's character don't worry he'll make an entry soon. I'm glad that the story is good enough to keep you mind off it! :D**

 **Aye I will keep trying my hardest!**

 **Third Cosmic Velocity: Aye I was back.. Then everything happened but now I'm back again I guess.. How many times can someone come back?.. Immortality's a bitch!**

 **Hehe, I'm happy to know that you anticipate my chapters so much.. I wonder how you'll react to this update.. I wouldn't say things have loosened up.. Just, settled in a little..**

 **It's always nice to hear when people are happy with a chapter.. Poor Reno eh? Getting all the female attention. The rest of the characters are going to be popping up soon, without all my previous plot plans I'm going to pull a few characters in, sooner than I originally had planned. So people might be seeing their characters in the next couple of chapters.**

 **Iios: Yeah, she's been playing the game for a long time so I thought might as well have a couple of accounts. Your little summoner might be with one of the groups fleeing Londenium, vowing to return and take back his home, maybe he's found someone to help him.**

 **Grinning Wolf 24: I'm sure Reno would agree to your proposal.**

 **N'aww, you're the first to return the love :D**

 **! ! ! ENTHUSIASM ! ! ! MARKS ! ! !**

 **Love it!**

 **Aye! I shall continue to write!**

 **Hands of Destiny: Thank you tiny potato! I shall never make you chips!**

 **bored kid 48: Thank you.. I think I'm ready to go again!**

 **Rundl322: Nope, everything was lost.. But it's like LEGO.. You build it, it breaks, you build it again.. This time with superglue.. Or in my case a back-up hard drive. For a montage.. You need epic montage music.. *Plays full opening theme to Gokukoku no Brynhildr***

 **Grinning Wolf 24: Aye, aye, it was horrible.. But I feel like I can start writing again with the information I've rebuilt. Thank you for your kind words Wolf, it really does make me happy to know that everyone was behind me willing to help if they could. :) It puts determination in me knowing how wonderful all my readers are. *returns hug* :3**

 **Guest (review on chapter 14. March 29): Thank you for understanding :D I guess you don't have to bate your breath any more :)**

 **eye of sparta: Aye it was, and I am continuing from right now :D.. Aye I had an internal back-up.. However that decided not to back up my story files.. It's okay now because I've got an external hard drive to back all my stories onto. Well I'm not sure how long it's been.. A couple of months? Well, I'm back now :)**

 **Riggic: I'm glad you like the story! It's my first go at a first person perspective. Thank you.. Aye sorry for the long wait!**

 **Guest (review on chapter 14. May 31): Aye I couldn't give up with so many of my readers sending me such lovely words of encouragement. I know how you feel I've been reading F-Fics for a long time and I hate it when stories and left to gather dust, without letting readers know what is going on.**

 **FrozenHydra: Wow, I'm impressed :3.. Thank you, thank you :D it's always nice to hear my amazing readers are enjoying the story. Don't worry, I'm stubborn.. Most of the time xD**

 **Phew.. Okay.. Now let's get on to the story.. I'm a little rusty so this could go one of two ways.. Here's to hoping it goes well!**

 **.:EDIT:.**

 **Guess what?.. Yeah it went the other way lol**

 **All will be explained in 14.5..**

 **Sowwie**

 **^.^'**


	15. Chapter 14-5

**Okay, let me explain this.. I've been told by some people that they have been unable to post a review.. Due to double posting.. This is likely been caused by the notices I put up, then the fact that I put the chapter over the posts.. So to fix this problem I have split the author note and this chapter.**

 **You should now be able to post reviews for this chapter :3**

 **Sorry about the inconvenience.. Hopefully after this everything should be sorted and I'll be able to post the next chapter, without any problems.**

"You two weren't really going to just hand me over to her were you?" Quietly mumbles Reno behind me.

I could see that Shadina wanted to say something. "Well I guess that would have been up to your girlfriend" My words instantly struck a cord and Shadina's face lit up like the flesh of a watermelon. Reno, however, looked dumbstruck, slowly trying to work out what I meant.

As we continued to walk through the city, I felt Shadina's elbow nudge my side. "What you say that for?" Spoke the woman in a hushed tone.

"Well you looked like you wanted to say something and well.. It kinda slipped out.. Sorry" I grin trying to hold in a laugh. "He didn't even understand that I was talking about you"

"That's not the point" Retorted the blue haired woman.

"Yeah it is.. But even now he's staring at your backside" I counter, my grin growing bigger.

"How do you know?"

"Well if I was stood behind you I know that's where I'd be looking" Once again my words made the taller female blush. "And I asked Maria to tug on my top when she sees Reno looking at your bottom, and to poke my side if he looks at mine"

"W-What?"

"Yeah and Maria hasn't stopped tugging on my top.. I was kinda concerned she was going to pull it off at one point" I laugh lightly as I feel another tug.

"B-But"

"Exactly.. He's obviously a butt man" I cut in before laughing again as Shadina's face darkens. "Your butt to be precise, so now what you going to do? Want me to say something?" I smirk.

"N-No.. Thank you.." Stammers the woman as she slowly puts a little sway in her hips.

"It's okay Maria.. I know exactly where his eyes are, you don't need to signal" I whisper to the small girl walking at my side.

"Of course mistress.. Why does he look at her bottom?" Asks the girl.

"Well Reno is a boy and Shadina is a girl.. Boys like looking at girls bodies and how they move, but girls can look at boys and think the same too.. Or girls.. Or boys.. I guess.." I explain, or at least try to.

"Oh.. Is there anyone you like to look at like that?" Questions the girl innocently.

"Umm.. I.. I.. Don't know.." I reply.. Is there? Someone I look at like that.. Someone I can't take my eyes off?.. I.. Can't remember.. "Hmm, that's strange" I mumble.

"What's strange?" Asks Shadina.

"Huh? Oh.. Nothing.. Keep swaying those hips sister" I smirk.

"Like what you see Reno?" Purrs the blue-haired mage as she continues walking, her nerves visibly shaking. But none the less, that tone and that line.. What a thief.. My line, my tone.. What a seductive copy cat.

"Wh-wh-wh.. Huh? I.. Uh.. Yes.. The neighbourhood is very nice.. All the bu.. Beautiful flowers" Stutters the red-head, four times as shocked as me that Shadina had outed him.

"Reno.. There aren't any flowers around here" States Maria, digging the elf's hole bigger.

"I.. No.. Of course there aren't.. I meant to say people.. Beautiful people.. Yeah.."

"I think there's one beautiful backside that's caught your eye" I mumble under my breath.

"Huh?"

"I said we are the only ones on this path" I _repeat_.

"I wonder where most of the people are" States a very red faced elf.

"They're likely watching whatever is going on that pulled Alex off you Reno" I shrug.

"Freya.. It's slightly bothering me.. If Alex is your friend.. Why didn't you offer your help?" Questions Shadina as she stops, emphasising her seriousness.

"The Legion can handle their own problems, and even if I got involved, you three would surely come with me.. And then I'd have to explain why we _intervened_ in official guild business, the leader of Legion isn't the sort of person to accept help from people outside of his guild. He expresses this to all his members and it is a rule within the guild that if you ask for help from the outside your wage is docked, a day pay for each member that helps you.. And that is the lightest punishment.. It leads all the way up to dismissal, so if we had of helped.. Likelihood is that Alex would have been dismissed.. So that's why I didn't even think of offering our help." I begrudgingly explain, as the memory of causing another to be expelled from Legion came back up.

"I see.. That's very strict.. I don't see the point in such a stupid rule" Grumbles Reno.

"I agree it's a game where everyone should work together surely?" Adds Shadina.

"I think it's a good rule" States Maria before explaining. "It means that at all times you must rely solely on either yourself or those whom you share the guild with. It also creates a vision of strength, if they never ask for help, then surely they are strong enough to deal with problems on their own"

"Yeah that's how most people look at it" I agree. "If you ask anyone to name a seriously strong guild, I bet 100K that the first name they say is Legion.. Then after a while they might say Freemasons or one of the other major combat guilds.. Even a lot of members of the other guilds will say Legion because of how their members appear so strong, this is only thanks to their guild never asking for help."

"Hmm.. I see how it makes them seem strong.. But I still think it's a dumb rule"

"I agree with Reno" States Shadina, making the elf smile.

"Well, we can stand here talking about how we agree and disagree with how a guild is run.. Or we can go sort out our own stuff" I grumble.

"Okay" Acknowledge the others as we continue our walk to the smith's, an old memory playing out in my head as I step forward.

" _Why did you feel you needed to call for help Orda?" Questions a tall man clad in gold armour with red fabric draped over his shoulders. His question aimed at a small female character, owning the name Orda._

" _C_Zar.. I.. There was no way I could have beaten them by myself.. I would have lost everything I'd collected" Explains the girl, while two soldiers hold her character down as the guild master questions her._

" _Better to lose your items than your pride.. No matter how powerful or rare the items you found were, they could be easily replaced.. Your actions were that of a weakling, crying for help.. You have sullied the name of our guild by just thinking of asking an outsider for help.. You, however, went even further than just thinking it.."_

" _Hey! She was being attacked by a whole squad of PK'ers! And just because she asked for help your giving her grief?!" Yells a fiery elven swashbuckler, adding an enraged emote just to get his point across._

" _You.. You should have known better! You know the rules of this guild! At one point you even called it home! Why would you defile the rules which you helped to create? Malkareth.. You have assisted this girl in tarnishing this guilds pride.. You will both be marked, a repeat bounty of 500 gold for Orda.. And an additional 2500 added to your repeat bounty Malkareth.. That's a 83500 gold reward for any member who hunts and kills you"_

" _But.." Began the girl, before she could continue C_Zar worked his menu, quickly dispelling her from the guild._

" _What about all my things in the guild storage?" Questions the girl._

" _They are forfeit, for your crime.. Now leave, outcast" Orders the guild master._

" _At least give back her gold!" Yells the elf, Malkareth._

" _No, she knew the rules, just as you did.. She broke a rule, just as you did.. She faces exile of the eternally hunted, just as you still do.. Leave this place.. Traitor"_

 _The elf left, quickly catching up to the girl Orda. "I'm sorry"_

" _Just leave me alone.. If you knew this would happen why did you even help me! This is all your fault!" Snaps the girl._

" _I'm sorry.. I didn't know things had gotten that bad since I was exiled.. They threw me out for helping a member of a different guild during a raid, then defending that player when the rest of my group turned on him.. Look.. I still have connections within legion.. I can have your bounty wiped.. Your name removed from the blacklist.. I can even offer you an appearance potion so they don't recognise your avatar.."_

" _Why.. Why do you still try to help?" Asks the girl._

" _Because it was my fault.. I know it isn't much but it's all I can do to try and fix what I have done"_

" _Don't you see?.. You can't help! You've already destroyed everything I worked so hard to achieve.. It took me forever to get my place in the guild.. Trial after trial.. I should have killed you after you finished off the PK'ers.. Just stay away from me.. Traitor"_

"Freya?" Speaks Reno as he pokes me.

"Hmm?"

"We arrived five minutes ago and all you've been doing is staring off into space, you okay?" Adds Reno, genuine concern in his voice.

"It was over there that I tried to.. That she.. No.. I.. I'm fine, sorry" I bumbled.

"There's no need to apologise, but if there's something we can help with just let us know okay?" States Shadina as she smiles before heading into the shop.

The shop was built around four huge forges, each one pumping out a different coloured ingot.

"Is that lavastone?" Asks Reno pointing at a red ingot.

"Ah close, close.. The colour is very similar, but no.. That is forged dragonflame.. Only got enough for about ten ingots but they take a couple of days to form" Comes the gruff voice of a dwarf as he walks out of the shop with Shadina.

"And this.. Is this manastone?" Questions Reno.

"Nay, that's malachite.. That one is sky steel.. And the last one is-" Continues the dwarf before I interrupt.

"That's wraithbone"

"Aye got it in one" States the dwarf, with a click of his fingers. "Now what can I do for y-.. Wait I recognise you.. Ah.. You're the ones that were lost, askin' all them questions.. Yes, yes.. Let's have a look and see if I can't fix up your gear.." Continues the dwarf as he examines each piece of our gear. "Yeah.. Umhmm.. Patch there.. Dent here.. Tap that out.. Reattach that.. Hmm.." Mumbles the dwarf as he looks over everything. "Okay it'll be 460 for the elf's repairs, 300 for the tall womans.. And 10,000 for yours"

Everyone looked at the dwarf in utter disbelief.. I, however, was slightly shocked at the price.. I was expecting 15k if not more..

"Could I be cheeky" I ask while looking through my menu.

"Aye, I'm sure a lass like you'll be cheeky even if I say no" Replies the dwarf.

"That wraithbone.. How much you being paid for that?"

"As an ingot.. I'd be looking for 30k.. Forged it'd be worth more than double that.. Why?"

"Can I ask who it's for?"

"I'm afraid I can't just give you the name of a customer.. If I did that and all of a sudden my customer was killed for the item.. Well it'd be bad for business.. Why the interest?"

"Just curiosity"

"Killed the cat, you know?" Adds the dwarf

"Aye.. I know.. Good thing I got nine lives then eh?"

"Indeed.. I can have everything fixed up in a couple of hours.. Unless you guys are staying in the city tonight.. If you are they'll be in better condition in the morning"

"Thank you, we were thinking of staying for a couple of days so that should be fine" I reply as I hand over the items.

"Take these until you get your own back" States the dwarf as he hands over some items to replace the broken ones.

"Thank you.. We'll be back in the morning" I wave as I head back towards inner city, to find that nice inn with the baths. The others following close behind.

" _Wraithbone.. Perfectly forged.. Soon crafted into a new blade.." Praises an elf as he stands over the forge. "I have the magic materials for the strengthening.. I'd like to have an increase in attack speed, or an increase to the range of my attacks"_

" _Aye.. Good choice.. That'll be 17k.. I tell you what, seeing as you are such a regular.. I'll give it you for only 15k" Shouts a dwarf while hammering the rare metal._

"Wraithbone huh?.." I mumble to myself as we continue to search for a good looking inn.

 **Hey everyone.. Yeah I know this chapter has taken forever.. But hey.. Here it is now.. I'll try to do another chapter on my next couple of days off.. I hope this chapter was good enough for you all.. No action in this one.. More about learning of the past.. There will be some more learning in the next chapter.. But I'll try and sort out a fight too :D**

 **Hope you have a fantastic day!**

 **Much love,**

 **El.**


	16. Chapter 15

**Aye aye, it's once again been ages since we last spoke.. Sorry but I'm sure all of you out there that have a job/jobs, bills, pets, a house etc. understand that life doesn't give you much time. The good news is that I've had some time off while I move jobs, this one is much better with regular hours.. Oh my god! No night shifts!.. Yeah I'm still getting used to the idea of being home everyday at 5.. That's not even the best bit.. My new job gives me every weekend off.. Unless something drastic has happened! So I'll actually have time to do stuff! Which means I should be able to get some good time to dedicate to writing! I know I promise this all the time but this time at least my job won't get in my way.. So once my sleeping pattern is sorted I should be much better!**

 **Rundl322 – I know right.. Tragic flashbacks FTW! All I'm going to say is remember all the flashbacks each one has a little clue/hidden information somewhere within, some of it obvious some of it not so much.**

 **bored kid 48 – I'm also excited to see how legion turns out.. They aren't an evil guild.. Just a little strict, but with so many members and with the name legion and C_Zar.. You kinda have big boots to fill, which is what they are trying to do.**

 **Onward my lovely readers!**

 **!ONWARD!**

 **(love the enthusiasm marks)**

 **(!LOVE THEM!)**

 **(no seriously they are great)**

 **(much like _that_ breakfast cereal)**

"Ahhhh.. This is amazing" I sigh as I lean back in the large steaming bath. Who knew there was a inn with such great big baths..

Woah!.. What the hell!

"H-Hey! Wh-what are you doing in here!?" I yell quickly grabbing a towel as I glare at two male characters walking towards the bath.

"Huh?.. We always come here after work.." Answers the taller of the two, both males had legion insignia marks on their arms.

"Yeah.. It's a public bathhouse after all" Adds the man's friend. Just as the man finishes, another, more familiar person comes bolting through the door. His red hair a blur as all three males crash into the bath.

With a gasp of air the red-head yells. "Freya!.. This is a shared bathhouse!"

"Yes.. I know that now" I growl.. Unhappy my relaxation was ruined.. "I should have known it was too good to be true" I mumble as I stand turning my back to the three guys while pulling the towel around myself.

"Dude you know her?" Quietly asks one of the two men.

"Yeah I'm a travelling partner of hers" Replies the elf coolly.

"Have you been there?" Asks the second man as he points in my direction.

"What?! No!.. What the hell!?" Growls Reno as he pushes both guy's heads underwater. "Perverts" Mutters the elf as he steps out of the water.

"So.. Should I do the same to you too Reno.. You're as much a perv as they are" I add.

"It's different, we know each other.. It's like friend perving"

" _Friend perving_?" I repeat, slightly unsure of how he'd came to that conclusion.

"Yeah, and that's acceptable.. Well more acceptable than non-friend perving" Explains the elf.

"You've actually thought about that haven't you?" I ask, somewhat astonished, a small smile tugging at my lips.

"I.. Uh.. Yeah I guess.. I am a guy after all"

In response to the elf's comment I laugh, while walking out the room, heading towards the changing area.

I quickly slip into some light clothing before stretching out my muscles and heading upstairs to the inn rooms. I'll order some cracker mush and water once I've had a little lie down.

Just as I reach to open the door I feel warm breath on the back of my neck. "Little bird, little bird, fly home, where it's safe"

"How is this possible?" I whisper

"You expect me to know, all I know is that me and you.. We always were one of the same, leave these weaklings behind, fly home little bird."

"You expect me to just leave everyone behind, no, I have to save the others.. Everyone needs to work together if we are going to stand a chance at getting out of this" I could feel the voice's silent laugh.

"Little bird, you've asked a question, now I ask one.. Do _you_ really want to leave?" Whispers the voice, it's words licking my ears. The question made my chest tight, my breathing latched onto something and everything slowed.

Do I really want to leave?

Do I want to leave?

Do I leave?

Do I?

I?

With a startled gasp I turn to face the voice, instead I'm met with nothing but a pain in my side.. The pain came in the form of a small pin, more precisely a low-level paralysis pin, wedged into my side, it wouldn't last long but it gave the voice enough time to vanish. It also gave me a few seconds to think, the voice.. Just who is it?.. I know it.. The accent, it's familiar and at the same time unknown.

Once the paralysis wears off I softly shake the thoughts from my head.

Opening the door to my room, I notice Maria sprawled out on the bed, the poor girl really was over doing herself.

Just as I go to sit down on the bed a message pops up from Fang, frantically I open my menu and read the message.

'Hey Freya,

We've arrived in Brigantia, there's six of us..

I managed to meet up with Titus on the way here, he said that he saw Athelstan and Calico fighting while he was trying to get some of his guild members out.. He said that it looked like Athelstan had attacked first, but he isn't sure.

Also.. He saw Magnus turn on Refia, he paralysed her so he could escape.. By time Titus got to her she was already dead..

He only saved a single player from his guild in the end. A Girl called Diamond who seems rather fond of him, don't know if that's just because he saved her but she's not moved from his side since we joined up.

Good news is I managed to save the very same guild's leader.. Some kid called Declan, his guilds a baby guild of Legion.. So I thought, maybe he'll be useful.. But then again I doubt that they'll care.

One of the guys you might remember, we ran a _Titan's Rage_ raid with him.. Ages ago.. Guy called Leonardo, he's been travelling around.. He joined up with us on the road, after we told him what happened in Londenium he seemed pretty pissed.

Then there's Lison, from what I can tell from his mumbling I think he might be German or Austrian maybe, he's quiet but seems nice enough.

And then finally there's little Blue-Jay.. She.. Well she hasn't really said anything apart from whispering a 'thank you' or a 'sorry' every once in a while.. Poor girl.

Apart from that we are okay.. I guess.. We're held up in the Unicorn.. Most of the players around here are fighting amongst themselves, we even had to pay the guards an entrance charge because of all the problems the people of the land are having with players. We are trying to get information about what's happening around the city, but from what I've seen it looks like there isn't a single ranked guild stationed here so everyone is out for themselves..

Freya.. It's mad how many people are here.. There must have been thousands of us online.. Tens of thousands even.. I mean that's a lot of people.. Surely everyone back home's noticed that many of us have suddenly gone missing.. They'll be trying to work out a way to get us back, won't they?

It's just that so many people are just sitting around.. It's the crying that's got me.. It's been ages and people are still crying.. Even me.. When I'm alone I can still feel my eyes swell up.. What are we going to do?'

Reading the message I choked back a few tears of my own, Fang had always been happy-go-lucky and hearing him like this had brought tears to my eyes.. Quickly I typed up my reply.

'Fang

We are just waiting for our gear to be repaired, it'll be ready in the morning, then we will head out..

We should be with your group before nightfall, it's good to know you, Titus and the others are safe at least.

Knowing _that_ guild they won't make any moves until they've dug themselves into Londenium which means they've got to overcome the Freemasons and The Keepers of the Lost, both of which have huge high-level guild strongholds within the city, on top of that they are also twin guilds so they're perfect at working together.

Even if tHoB manage to manipulate members within both guilds they'll be quickly dealt with, meaning that tHoB will have their hands full indefinitely.. Which gives us time to get sorted.

What I'm more concerned about is how they managed to attack players without alerting the Law-Keepers.. More importantly I'd like to know how they managed to set themselves up so quickly..

Maybe us being stuck here has something to do with them? Or at least they have information.

For us to understand what's happening, at some point we're going to need to know what they know, which means at some point we're going to have to go up against them.. To do that we are going to need to get ourselves sorted out..

Fang, I need you and the others to start sorting out problems in the city, get people working together any way you can, we need to get everyone on the same page if we are going to stand any chance of working out a way to get out of this world.

Also if you can.. Find a few couriers and pay them enough to persuade them to run to other cities and towns, get them to spread the word about Londenium. Once they've been to a few towns and cities the information should spread itself.. At least I hope..

I can't believe Athelstan would turn on Calico without a reason, and I'm sure if he did Calico would have seen it coming. About Magnus.. Yeah, that I can believe.. I never liked or saw what Al saw in that foul mouthed PK'ing dwarf..

I agree with you, doubt legion will care much, they're having to deal with their own problems, I ran into Alexandria earlier she's just as always, didn't find out much but she did rush off all of a sudden.

Anyway we'll be able to talk more soon.

Stay strong Fang.'

With a small sigh, knowing that words were hardly enough to comfort my friend, I hit the send button.

"Mistress.. Are you okay?.. After everything that has happened to and around you, you've not once faltered or wavered.. You're such a strong person, but there is only so much one person can take on their own.. You've been walking this world for a long time but I feel that everything is changing, things somehow seem different" Chimed the small girl as she sat up, her eyes looking straight into mine.

"Yeah, I'm fine Maria. You said the world seems different? How do you mean?" I inquire, patting the girl's head, making her smile.

"Not the world, no, the world hasn't changed.. Only those who populate it.. I'm talking about you as a whole.. The adventurers themselves seem different"

Shocked by the girls response I slowly reply. "How are we different?"

"It's hard to explain, but it feels as though the adventurers are somehow more alive.. Before it seemed you were only here to serve a purpose, undying warriors sent from the heavens, vassals of the gods themselves to help us in our times of need.. But now you seem almost like the people of the land, you show emotions and have feelings, along with that you more freely interact with us.. To the point of that scary man that killed my father.." Maria sniffed and quickly rubbed her face, the bad memory flashing in her eyes like a nightmare.

Slowly I pull the girl into a light hug.

Taking in a deep breath, Maria continues her explanation. "It feels like you have become more than what you were, where you were once vassals, following out our tasks.. Now.. You are alive, free from your bindings of servitude.. I think this realisation has scared most people.. Like those men in the town before that attacked Reno and Shadina.. I hope that once the people have accepted the change that we can still work together.."

"Aye.. I think I understand.. Before whatever happened, we were only partially here, we controlled our _vassals_ from far away and we lived very different lives, in our real bodies and our own world.. Now our vassals and our bodies are joined here in this world.."

"I see.. What was your world like?" Questions the girl.

"My world?.. My world was a dull place.. I would dream of returning to this world whenever I was in my own.. You see.. In my world I'm not as strong as you see me now.. I'm actually the opposite.. I'm weak and in my world people tend to take advantage of weaknesses"

"That sounds horrible.. Don't you have vassals to help you?"

"No in my world most people are just trying to survive.. They work all day to earn enough money to live, when you are young you're parents look after you but after so many years you go to school.. At school you learn everything you need to get a job to start earning your own money" I explain.

"So everyone goes to the same.. School?"

"No, there are lots and lots of schools.. There's primary schools, where you start to learn the basics of reading, writing, maths, science, history and lots of other things.. Then after six years there you move up into secondary school, where you learn harder things and develop the things you already know.. You spend five years in secondary school before you move onto college, college is where you get to choose what you want to develop for another two years.. So you can choose to better yourself at science or art or any of the other things you have learned.. After college you can go to university to better your knowledge even more.. You can spend between two and ten years learning even more"

"So people spend most of their lives learning things in these schools?"

"Aye pretty much"

"What about the world itself.. Is it as beautiful as our own?"

"I guess in some areas it is.. But a lot of the world has been destroyed so that we could build our giant cities.. Much like all the old buildings around this city we are in now" I state while standing up and walking towards the window, Maria following next to me.

"You see those tall structures?" I ask while point out towards a crumbling ruin, of what long ago had been a tower block.

"Yes"

"Well those would have been the homes of hundreds and hundreds of people.. All living in their own small rooms within the building.."

"Did you live in one of those?" Asks the girl.

"Not one like that, but similar.." I reply.

"Your world doesn't sound very appealing.. What about food?.. I always see you pulling funny faces whenever you eat.. Did the food taste different in your world?"

"Food.. Oh.. Food was actual food in my world.. Everything had it's own taste.. I'd love to have a full Sunday roast" I chime.

And so started a conversation that lasted late into the night, as I explained everything that Maria wanted to know about my world...


	17. Chapter 16

**Hey everyone !**

 **Well Touhou don't get me wrong, I do give a few hints about things that might happen, but really.. I just like chatting with all my lovely readers, it is you guys and gals out there that read my rubbish after all.. So it's kinda like my way of getting everyone involved.. If someone recommends/says something in a review I think it's only right for me to reply.**

 **Yeah I guess after the last encounter with the mysterious stranger (!STRANGER DANGER! !STRANGER DANGER!) Freya is weighing up the differences between the two worlds.. Yeah the original works didn't really cover much on that subject.. Now Maria knows a little bit, she's likely to ask more questions as she's curious about Freya's world.**

 **Yeah I know a lot about internet dying.. Heh.. I could be cussing for hours about my internet at times.. Wooo.. Perfect timing :D**

 **P.S: Thank you, thank you.. Yeah! Night shifts are very, very suckish!**

 **Riggic you are welcome for the chapter.. Welcome for the chapter! :P**

 **Rundl, well there's a bit of a catch.. It's not so much the chefs.. But instead it's the potters that we will have trouble finding.. As the higher quality meals need higher quality materials.. Meaning the need for high-level potters/glass-blowers/artisans to craft the plates, bowls, glasses, flagons, jugs etc. etc. As for enchanting food.. I don't think I'll do that, because the stat boosts food gives depends on it's rarity/level/materials.. So if you could enchant food with stat boosts then there would be no need to craft high-level meals.. However, the opposite might work.. De-buffing and poisoning food.. Hmm.. An interesting idea.. Thank you! :D**

 **Iios, I would be lying if I corrected you.. Log horizon does indeed have an auto-translator, however, I believe it doesn't change your accent.. Also I'm not 100% sure how the auto-translator works, does it translate everything, or only when you are actually talking with someone.. Either Fang would have recognised the German accent in Lison's translated voice, or if he said something to himself.**

 **Lieutenant Commander. J. Miller  
* salutes ***

 **Indeed they will need to be careful, but it isn't just strangers that one cannot trust, it would appear that one cannot trust one's friends either. For example Magnus and Athelstan, both highly credited members of the Part-time Paragons, Magnus wasn't a surprise to Freya because of his previous guild memberships.. Athelstan on the other hand.. Well.. Who knows who's a good guy and who's a bad guy? Even Freya with her past characters' history?**

 **The Server of Redness(a.k.a Red Server)! Aye and I can't wait to get the next one out either!**

 **Mythical Creature caught in Ice Age!.. Yeah that's you FrozenHydra!**

 **Why? Were you thinking of making a break for the exit? Oh no, you don't get out that easy! Nobody does! Muhahahah!**

 *** cough ***

 *** cough ***

 **Aye thank you, yeah sleeping patterns are tough cookies..**

Me and Maria had been talking late into the night and when I awoke I found the girl cuddled up to me.

It was an unusual sight, usually she'd be waking me with breakfast by now.. But I didn't mind at all.. After talking about food last night, I don't think I'd be able to handle the shattering of dreams as the good looking food turned out to, once again, taste like nothing more than.. Mashed water cracker.

I slowly squeeze myself free from the small girl's vice-like grip before whispering. "Wakey wakey little one"

"Mmm" Acknowledged Maria half-heartedly.

"Come on time to wake up, we've got to get our stuff from that smith"

"Mhmm" Grumbles the girl, with a stretch, slowly waking up.

With a yawn of my own I open my inventory and select a set of clothes to wear until I'm reunited with my armour.. It had surprised me yesterday just how light clothing was, after becoming used to the weight of my armour throughout most of the day.. Then sleeping without anyt-.. Yeah you get the idea..

Who knew wearing clothes actually felt weird.. No.. Not like that!.. Shesh guys.. I didn't mean it like I walk around naked! I mean like.. Ahh, why am I even trying to explain it to you?

After picking a pale blue, short sleeved tunic, soft leather shorts and a pair of light boots, I pull out a set of throwing axes, sheathing a pair at my hips. Finally I pulled my hair into a long pony tail, leaving it to fall down the front of my shoulder.

"You're wearing the axes I made for you?" Questions Maria as she finishes getting changed.

"Aye" I reply absent-mindedly running my hand over the wooden haft, Maria had engraved subtle marks into the light coloured wood.

"I'm glad you like them" States the girl as she pats her dress, heading towards the door. "We should go have something to eat before we set out"

"Aye, we don't want your tummy grumbling half way there" I joke.

Maria responded with a puff of her cheeks before opening the door. We both left the room and navigated the stairs to the first floor, and the small communal eating area.

Both Reno and Shadina were sat at a table, chatting and laughing, both turned when they noticed me and Maria approach.

"Hey, you're up late as always boss" Chimes the red-haired male of the group with a smirk.

"Well I've got to make sure I get my beauty sleep you know?" I retort with a smirk of my own before adding. "I guess you two woke up together, huh?"

"I.. Wh-what do you mean by that?" Stammers Shadina, a small hint of blush colouring her cheeks.

"I'm just saying, it's strange that I always find you two _together_ in the morning, it's like you wake up _together_ or something" I clarify, adding emphasis on the one word, making Reno's face the same shade of red as our blue haired companion's, almost matching his own hair.

"Geez Freya, it's like you are suggesting something" Growls Shadina as she death glares at me.

I think if I was closer to her, she'd of at least kicked me.. Oh well, guess that's just good planning on my part.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?" Asks one of the inn staff as she welcomes me. "Is there anything I can get for you to eat or drink?"

"I'll have the special please" Responds Maria with a small smile.

"Of course, and you miss?"

"I.. I'll have.. Ughh.. Anything.." I groan, while my stomach protests at the idea of breaking down the bland meal. "Look we don't have to eat!" I growl while poking my tummy.

"Freya.. You realise.. You're talking to your stomach.. R-right?" Points out Reno cautiously.

"Yeah! Well I can't help that the food doesn't taste of anything other than mushy mushy mashed crackers!" I bark.

"That's one thing I don't understand.. You complain that the food is tasteless.. Or rather that it tastes like.. Crackers? But all the food I've eaten while I've been with you has tasted great.. I look forward to the taste of each new dish.. Apart from the fruit.. Fruit never really has any texture, but the meals I've tasted would be enough to make a king jealous" Exclaims Maria as her mouth waters.

"I guess it's just us that can't taste the flavours then" Sighs Reno. "I just wish I could taste something that resembled steak and chips.."

"Trust a guy to think of steak.. I miss chocolate.." Mumbles Shadina.

"Chocolate.. Trust a girl to think of chocolate" Retorts Reno with a small laugh.

"What about you Freya? What food do you miss?" Asks the blue haired woman.

"I.. I miss Sunday roast" I state, for the second time.

The truth was that I'd not had one in a long time.. But it was less the meal itself and more that I actually missed being around a table with mother, father and brother.. It had been such a long time since we shared a meal.. With them being so busy with work.. And, then with me being sent off to school.. The last meal we had shared together was a Sunday dinner about five or six years ago.. The family I never wanted to leave.. The family that dreamed of my education more than they dreamed of me.. I know it was selfish at first, to hate them for sending me away to stay at school, for them to be too busy to see me during school breaks.. Even when all I wanted was to share that moment again.. All of us enjoying a single meal.. It was all I wanted.. It wasn't much to ask for.. But even that was too much, mother would be busy with her clients, father busy with his important work.. And brother.. Too busy fighting in far off lands.. For queen and country.. No.. It was just another excuse for us all to be apart..

"Freya? Are you alright?" Came the concerned voices of my companions, snapping me free from my thoughts..

"You're crying" Whispers Maria from the seat next to me.

"Huh?.. Oh.. Sorry.. Just thinking.." I reply wiping away any signs of the tears falling from my eyes.

"You sure you're okay? You looked deep in thought but at the same time so sad and pained.." Shadina let a small comforting smile grace her face as she spoke.

"Yeah.. I'm fine.."

"Remember what I said the other day, if you need someone to talk to" Reassures the woman.

"Aye" I answer, taking a sample of my now cold meal.. Yep.. Nothing but mushy water cracker.

After forcing down a few mouthfuls of the horrific food, I pull myself up onto my feet. "Let's go get our stuff"

With each of the three replying with their own affirmations, we left the inn heading back towards the blacksmiths we'd visited the day before.

It wasn't long before we reached the smith's workshop, the sound of metal being worked resounded loudly as a small force worked, tirelessly creating new pieces. It took a few moments for us to be noticed over the loud noise of the forges, but it was a female foxtail that noticed us in the end.

The girl was average height, likely she'd look just as small as I did next to Shadina.. Meaning she'd be roughly the same height as me.. However, she had quite the curvaceous figure, which quickly piqued my interest.. She was wearing a thick leather top covering most of the front of her, lower down she wore a pair of rough shorts, covered in singes and black patches of burnt material. Her long ocean blue hair, brushed down past her back to her waist, not reaching quite as far down as my long red locks..

That didn't matter really, you can pull on any length of hair.. What!.. I like it with a little spice sometimes! Nothing wrong with that!.. Anyway back to the pretty foxtail..

Her skin held a light tan, most probably from working the forges all day, her arms were ever so slightly muscular and exposed, thanks to her rolled up sleeves. Her hands visibly rough from the hard work..

Keeping my gaze moving lower from her hands to her backside, I quickly found my eyes locking on to the girl's long blue tail as it continued swooshing around. Surely having a tail and working a forge was some risk? Hello, health and safety would have a field day here..

Continuing on course my eyes wandered for what felt like an hour before I got the end of her long legs.

Once on the ground I slowly examined the girl from the ground up, by this time she had turned to look at me and the others, her face was lit up by her bright blue bespectacled eyes, her round glasses rested on a small nose. Her soft lips and large, narrow fox ears finished off her features.

Her voice was the next thing up for analysis.

"Oi! Go get the dwarf! Customers!" Yelled the fox tail over the hammers.

"Yeah, yeah I'll get him.. Don't get you knickers in a twist Niyaka!" Yelled another worker back, visibly pissing the foxtail off.

"Ah piss off you useless piece of crap!" Yells the girl named Niyaka, before slamming her hammer down on a poor piece of super heated metal, the molten mineral screamed in resistance to the blow, only offering to anger the foxtail further. "Piece of shit metal!"

"A little fiery" Mumbled Reno quietly, making sure the girl would not hear.

"Sometimes fiery is good" I whisper.

"Ah! My friends!" Comes the loud voice of the dwarf. "Please excuse my ill mannered foxtail, Niyaka is a little anti-social and doesn't understand the idea of 'holding back'. But she's one of my best workers, doesn't cause any bother and some of her forging is really good.. As long as she stays cooler than the forge that is.. Anyway.. You'll be here for you gear, not for chin-wagging.." Booms the dwarf as he leads us into the shop, closing the door behind us.

"If you'd all like to place your temporary items into the drop box I'll get your gear out"

As instructed we all drop the unused pieces of equipment into the large drop box, just as the last item falls through the dwarf returns. He plays with his menu for a second before our gear materialises on the counter in front of us. "There we are, if you'd like to look over it, then we can sort out payment"

"Looks great, it was 460 wasn't it?" Asks Reno, receiving a nod in response from the dwarf.

"It's 300 for yours" States the dwarf as Shadina places down the money.

"10k for mine right?" I ask.

"Aye.. But I got something I thought you might be interested in.. I was looking around after fixing your Valkyrie skirt, because I knew I had it lying around somewhere.. I found the blasted thing under some rusty old chest-pieces.. Have a look at this" Explains the dwarf as he places a very particular piece of armour onto the counter.

I could feel my jaw drop.. Another piece of the Valkyrie set.. "How?.. Is it genuine?"

"Aye of course it's genuine.. It's just that without the set I can't really shift it.. It's confusing how you already have a piece.. After all it's stuff that used to be in one of the end-game raids before an update.. Back when the max level was only 70"

"65.. It was the last end-game raid just before the update that pushed max level to 70, and even then drop rates for Valkyrie gear was pretty much zero" I correct with a smile.

"Ah, aye.. Indeed it was.. So how did you come to own a piece then?"

"Friends in high places" I answer. "But yes.. I'm interested, how much we talking about here?"

"Well 10K for repairs.. I'll say, given that I had to do a bit of work on the breastplate.. Double or nothing?" Tries the dwarf with a smile.

"Aye sounds good 20K for the breastplate, plus 10K for the repairs?" I agree, knowing that the dwarf meant 20K for everything.

"Deal" Replies the dwarf quickly, a greedy smile plastered onto his face.

The trade was quickly accepted and I was now the proud owner of a second piece of my Valkyrie set. The breastplate was just as skimpy as the plate skirt, covering only my breasts.. Giving a new take on the items name: Breastplate really did mean a plate of metal covering boobs.

There was a nice addition of a light, see-through thin chain mail, that fell from the bottom of the metal plates, covering my abdomen, well I say covering.. It didn't really do much to cover me up.. However, I knew that if I really didn't like it I could always get someone to style a cape onto it, or customise the plates to give more coverage..

"It looks good on you" Chimes the dwarf drooling slightly at all the exposed skin.

"Thanks" I reply with a slight shudder.. I don't know what it was.. But when dwarves made comments like that, they come across more creepy than flirtatious.. I guess it's because they all look really old with their hair and beard colours usually being grey or white.. I don't know.. Maybe I was just dwarfist.

"Now that everything is all fixed up I guess we'll be on our way, thank you for your service" I state as we head towards the door.

"Aye, thanks for your custom.. And don't forget if you're in town again come by, I might have some other things in stock!" Shouts the dwarf as the sounds burst into the shop through the open door.

"We will" I reply with a short wave, closing the door behind us.

The Foxtail girl was still beating the ingot excessively.. Growling words that would make a sailor blush.

Putting the blacksmiths behind us, not before taking one more look at the equal part foul-mouthed, equal part pretty foxtail, Niyaka, as she worked the metal.

"I guess it's back on the roa-" Starts Reno before a blur of pink hair comes crashing into him.

"I finally founnnnnnnn~~d you" Comes the half-cry, half-cheer of the pink haired blur as it glomps the red haired elf.

"Raghhhhhhh!" Screams Reno as he falls landing on his back, the 'glomper', landing on top, quickly starts grinding his mid-section.

"I missed you" Moans a husky voice thick with lust.

 **Dun Dun Duhhhhhhhhhhhh!**

 **Hehe.. Another update? So soon?**

 **I know right.. I'm on fire..**

 **Ahhhh!**

 **!FIRE!**

 **!FIRE!**


End file.
